A Scarecrow in the Storm - Part 3
by NoBirdWithintheCage
Summary: Four years have passed since the Uchiha Incident and Arashi is assigned her first A Ranked mission, but what will she do when it requires her to re-establish bonds with someone she hasn't spoken to in twelve years? How can she connect with a man that keeps everyone at a calculated distance? With each new threat, how will she continue to uphold the Will of Fire? (Kakashi x OC)
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: New Beginnings**

* * *

Okay, so… I said that I would wait 2-3 weeks, but I couldn't make myself wait any longer. Dx I'm too excited to start this.

Well, here's chapter 1 of Part 3! I still can't quite believe I'm finally here. When I initially began writing this fanfiction, it was because I wanted to write the content of this part and then part 4. I knew that Arashi would need to be developed before I could even begin writing her into canon events, though, so I started her off as an overly sweet, air head of a girl and got to work. Over 180k words later, and I'm finally here.

* * *

 **Chapter Song** : Beirut – Nantes

* * *

 **Chapter Summary** : _Years after the Uchiha massacre, Arashi meditates on how much has changed, and witnesses the start of many new beginnings._

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

 _Arashi could not say what form of madness took her after the massacre. With a driving fury, she dug through every report on the incident that she could get her hands on. As always, her connection to Ibiki made a little more available for her, but she found no answers to her questions._

 _One night, her dearest friend single handedly murdered his entire clan and then escaped the Village before anyone knew what happened._

 _Nothing she was able to find contradicted that report. There was no evidence that suggested anything else happened that night._

 _The more she vexed herself about it, the more she tore herself apart at the seams. The issues she had with the shinobi lifestyle with all of its traditions were no longer the melancholic thoughts of a child growing up too fast. They stole her sleep, her appetite, and her peace. Not only had she been groomed into a weapon from a young child – an innocent creature that never wanted to do harm – she watched as her brother followed the same path. Her eyes were opened to the truth – they were all caught in a never ending cycle of violence. Each Land was pitted against the other, every person was a pawn, and the minds of the most promising children were the ones that the elders warped the most._

 _She grew to hate it._

 _Arashi should have given up on Itachi. She had a family, a career, and friends – even if they were dysfunctional. She should have written him off as a madman and went on with her life – but she could not._

 _"It is unwise to be so lost in thought."_

 _She blinked, "I know, Itachi. Just thinking."_

 _"Of your family?"_

 _"Every day," she admitted. "But I couldn't abandon you."_

 _"You are foolish."_

 _He was no longer the warm person she knew – but sometimes, whether it was a trick of her mind or not, she would catch a glimpse of the person he used to be._

 _"I know."_

 _He turned away from her and continued walking through a crowded street. They were far from Konoha, but they still had to keep a watchful eye. Being in the Bingo Book made them highly sought after – Itachi far more than Arashi._

 _She shrugged and followed after the Uchiha._

 _Ultimately, she was selfish when it came to him._

* * *

Arashi jerked awake, drenched in sweat. She sat up in her bed and pushed a floral blanket away from her body. It took several moments for her breathing to return to normal.

She was home and in her room – not on the run as a criminal.

The kunoichi rubbed her temples and slid out of bed. It was nothing more than a recurring dream that refused to go away for long, and each time it came back it rattled her.

Losing Itachi had not been easy, but it was made worse by his last actions in the village. The weeks that followed the massacre were hard and she filled them with looking into what happened. She was convinced that there had to be some explanation that would prove his innocence in some form or fashion, so she searched and questioned until she was at her wit's end. Each day turned into a week and then weeks turned into months. She never found what she was looking for.

There were questions that would never be answered – and she came to accept that. If she ever came to know everything that caused the tragedy or not was out of her hands. In the end, she re-devoted herself to her studies, her research, and doing what she originally wanted to do with her life: help the people of the Land of Fire.

She knew that the dream was a manifestation of questions she pushed to the back of her mind and the desire to save her old friend. Still, the idea of leaving her family, her friends, and the Village – for a person that murdered his own family – was beyond her. It made her feel dirty that her subconscious would conjure up such a situation and then force her to reenact it once every month or so.

Arashi was no longer a love sick fourteen year old girl, crying in the rain. She was eighteen now, and scheduled to help with a few procedures in the hospital that day. There was no time for her to lay in bed, vexing over a dream. She had places to go, things to do.

With a deep breath to steady her nerves, she stepped onto the rug she bought to cover the deep scratches on the floor from when she pushed a bookcase across it to barricade the door. One positive thing from that was that she never stepped onto cold wood straight out of bed, anymore. She stretched and walked over to the window. Some fresh air always helped her move about better in the mornings. She pushed the floral curtains out of the way and froze.

There was paint all over the glass.

The familiar signature of Uzumaki Naruto stood outside her home, on the street.

She jerked the window open and yelled, "Naruto, I thought we were cool!"

Below, the boy ran back and forth, a bucket of paint swinging in one of his hands and the other pointing to his forehead. She squinted at him. In the place where his goggles always sat was a hitai-ate, instead.

"Sis! Sis! Look, look, look!" The boy yelled up to her. "I'm a ninja! Ninja! Ninja! Ninja!"

Arashi's mouth fell open, "You passed? I thought you failed! Was Iruka-san sick of you flunking all of his tests or something?"

The boy squinted at her, "No – and that doesn't even matter! I'm a ninja!"

"When do you meet your new Sensei?"

"Today!"

"Well," Arashi rubbed some sleep from her eyes and glanced at a clock in her room, "You need to go or you'll be late! Hurry!"

His blue eyes widened and he dropped the bucket of paint on the ground. Without any other words, he dashed away to get to the Academy.

Several civilians that witnessed their exchange gave her and the boy a strange look. She shrugged and closed the window.

Her parents were going to be furious, but she would clean the paint off that evening. She was proud of Naruto. The boy was on cloud nine, which she could not fault him for. She had been ecstatic, too, until she learned who her teammates were.

He was in for a surprise when he discovered that the hard part had just begun – if the Jounin even agreed to take Naruto's squad on as students. Jounin typically tested their would-be students the day of meeting them or the day after. She would find Naruto and ask him how everything went the next day. Knowing how difficult everything was for the boy, she made a mental note to say a few prayers for him.

She chuckled and moved away from the window.

Arashi had a long day ahead of her and she needed to find the time to order flowers.

* * *

"Hey, everyone. Sorry about how long it's been since the last time I visited."

Arashi scrubbed some dirt from the surface of a grave's marker. The name: Uchiha Fugaku was carved into the stone, easily legible now that it was clean. She replaced the dead flowers from her previous visit with new ones she had picked up that morning.

"Yesterday, I had that dream again. I always know it's been a while since I checked on you guys when I start having it," she explained to the graves. "Not much has really changed, though."

Arashi went to another marker to clean.

"Akio's still in ANBU. I don't see him as much as I used to, but he makes a point to touch base with me. Daisuke landed a permanent spot in the Torture and Interrogation squad about a month ago. No surprise there. Ibiki Sensei worked hard preparing him. We all still meet up to get something to eat and we'll take turns training with each other when we have the opportunity."

She sighed.

"So, they're both members of ANBU. Akio for a little over a year now and Daisuke just recently. I'm still a chuunin."

She placed a flower at another grave and moved on.

"I told you all about my studies a few years ago. Those are still going well. I might just be a chuunin, but that doesn't really bother me. I help people in the hospital, take some B ranked missions here and there, and I work on learning and perfecting jutsu. It's a more passive role than I originally planned for myself, but that's okay."

Her words sounded hollow to her ears. She did not feel like it was okay. Both of her teammates had left her behind, not that she expected to walk the same path as them. When she was fourteen, she wanted to believe she would achieve a Jounin ranking in four years' time.

Then the massacre happened.

Ibiki never addressed her sudden lack of motivation, but she was confident he noticed and knew why. She feared the darkness that waited for her if she delved too deeply into the ways of the shinobi. If it swept Itachi away then she doubted she could withstand it.

Then again, she did not dismiss the possibility that her strange friend had been crazy all along and she had just not seen it because of her naiveté.

She cleared her throat, "I'm not sure how long it's been since Sasuke last visited. Even if he doesn't come here often, I'm sure he cares. He hasn't been the same without you guys."

Arashi left the comment at that.

Sasuke was a distant and angry child. When she went to him to offer her condolences, she was met with only hostility. He never explained why, but she knew. She reminded him of Itachi. He had since pushed her away until she no longer tried.

It made her feel bad, but he was not her responsibility. It was his decision. If he did not want to have anything to do with her, then she was more than happy to stay away from him. She had too little time as it was, and too many people to divide it between.

"But yeah," she shrugged. "Nothing is really different. I'm going to find out if Naruto is a Genin today, or if he's going back to the Academy." She snorted, "And I know, Fugaku-san. You warned me to guard my reputation by avoiding him, but that's not in my nature. He's not the brightest and no one's safe from his pranks. Not even me. He made my mom angry yesterday – by painting something about being a ninja and being on his way to Hokage on the side of our home. Thankfully, it all came off. He's got a good heart, though and I appreciate that, even with his personality flaws."

Arashi shook her head. She sometimes wondered what went through Naruto's mind.

"Dad works all the time, so nothing new there. Mom keeps herself busy with her salon, but she loves it. Kazika's still in the Academy and doing very well. He enjoys it even more than he did at first. I mentioned that they started letting him use his tanto again after the last incident, didn't I? Dad was furious. I don't think I've ever seen him so mad."

She circled through the area, making sure that all of the markers were clean and decorated with a flower. Once she checked each, she returned to the first two she visited.

"Hey, Mikoto-san. I still try the recipes you showed me, but I'm not as good at cooking as you were…" she trailed off. "I wish things could have turned out differently."

She gathered all of her things together.

"Oh well! I'll see you all next time. Maybe I'll have something new to talk about."

* * *

Arashi walked through the village, following after Naruto's signature.

As much as she questioned the benefits of being a shinobi, she was happy for him. Unlike her, he had no family waiting for him and no friends to help him through rough times. For reasons that were out of his control, the inhabitants of Konoha distrusted and despised him. One of his only hopes for having a life was to be a ninja and earn the respect of his peers, even if it was dangerous.

Her years in the Academy were now a little vague to her. She studied hard, applied herself, and breezed through most of the tests. For Naruto, it was much more difficult. Ookami taught her good studying habits at a young age and groomed her into being a medical shinobi while the other students were focused on generalized studies.

That difference in focus was one of the main differences between a student that came from a family with shinobi in it and a student with a civilian family. While it was more notable for clans to train their offspring outside of those classes and to guide them in their traditions, children from shinobi that did not belong to a clan also received special attention from their parents. Naruto's life would have been much different if his parents were alive; instead, he was left to fend for himself with loose guidance from the few people in the village that were kind to him.

She had hoped he would make friends in class, but that did not happen. Now that he was a Genin – she assumed he passed – he had a chance to form bonds with his teammates. If she managed to befriend Akio and Daisuke, then Naruto would be able to manage whoever else was in his squad.

Arashi tingled with excitement for him. She wanted to rush to him and congratulate him. From what she could tell, he was close to Ichiraku's – no surprise there. The smell from the restaurants in the area wafted through the air, pushed along by the gentle breeze. It should have made her hungry, but the idea of ramen still turned her stomach. She never thought she would hate anything that much.

She could have closed the distance between them quickly, but she held back. There were three signatures with him. She assumed they were his squad. One was Uchiha Sasuke – they would be fighting as much as she fought with Daisuke. The kunoichi wished that amount of antagonism on no one. The second was familiar, but not enough for her to connect a face to it. It was the third signature, the Jounin's, which made her pause.

His chakra shot through him like electricity – invigorating and disciplined. She had felt his presence countless times, but always at a distance. It had been years since she last laid eyes on him, though. She rationalized that it was because he was often busy on missions outside the village. That he had taken students surprised her – most shinobi as engulfed in their careers as he was often found the prospect of working with Genin too much responsibility or too troublesome.

 _Kakashi? Naruto's on a team with Sasuke and his Sensei is Hatake Kakashi? Well. This is going to be interesting._

The first person to come into view was the Jounin. His three students were already inside and seated. He was about to join them, but paused when he noticed Arashi approaching him.

He stood almost a head taller than Arashi, even without taking his hair into consideration. Half of his face was covered by a mask while a hitai-ate covered his left eye, but she could still make out the sharp angles of his chin and nose. He was no longer a young boy, but an established shinobi - one that was hard to read. The bored, half lidded way he watched her did not reveal his thoughts and the laid back manner that he held himself only hinted at an underlying confidence. Without knowing which subtleties to look for, she doubted she would have noticed even that.

When she was still several strides away, she opened her mouth to greet him, but was cut off.

"Well, if it isn't my little _fwend_ , all grown up."

His tone was overly sweet and the skin around his eye crinkled in a smile.

Her cheeks burned.

 _Oh kami, he remembers me as a spoiled six year old._

Arashi was mortified.

This was the first time he had spoken to her in twelve years and he was _teasing_ her – within earshot of the Genin. If they overheard the exchange, they would possibly have questions and there was no way she wanted to go through the embarrassment of remembering herself as a child that cared more about making sure the bow in her hair was perfect rather than knowing how to handle a kunai properly.

From years of Daisuke's goading, her instincts automatically flipped to being defensive. She almost crossed her arms and threw her nose up in the air, but that gesture would have announced that she was uncomfortable with what he had said. She refused to give him that.

Instead, Arashi forced her lips into a grin to feign that the blush on her face was from amusement.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she took a step toward him; placing herself a little closer than what was appropriate. "Looks like I'm not the only one, though. You've finally grown into those awkward knees and elbows of yours."

He arched one silver eyebrow at her.

"You still need to grow into those ears, though," She added and poked his chest for good measure.

For a brief second, the sensation of his signature tingled across her skin and made her hair stand on end. Arashi pulled her hand back and touched her scarf. It was still cold, but warmer than it had been before and there was something else about it that had her pinned to that spot. It was like a breath of air to burning lungs. For the first time in years she wanted to wrap herself in someone's aura and be consumed by it.

Before she had much time to consider it, Naruto crashed into her, "I'm a Genin!"

She stumbled a few steps before she regained her balance, "I see that!"

He released her waist and shot a grin up at her that split his face from ear to ear. When Naruto was happy, his expressions showed it in spades.

"Congratulations!" She turned to face him, "It took you long enough, you know. I was starting to worry that you'd be in those classes until you turned eighteen."

"They don't have classes for people that old," a pink haired girl commented.

Sasuke smirked, but remained quiet. He did not greet the Chuunin that was once his brother's friend or acknowledge the glance that she threw in his direction. They had long since come to a silent but mutual agreement to treat each other like strangers.

Arashi turned her attention to the girl and snorted, "I know."

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, "Oi! I've got this. I'm going to be Hokage someday, y'know! Nothing's going to hold me back."

"Yeah, yeah," Kakashi sighed. "We know."

Naruto disregarded their previous statements, "Eat some ramen with us! Sensei's treating!"

Kakashi gave the boy a flippant look.

 _Naruto, this should be something involving just your squad… like a bonding thing._

Either Arashi was a better liar than she gave herself credit for, or Naruto was the most oblivious person in the world. Out of all the times he coerced her into paying for his food there, she had managed to not eat a bowl of ramen in two years. The smell alone made her ill.

"Um, I'm not really hungry right now."

Naruto grabbed her arm and pulled her to a seat. Her shoulders sagged in defeat. She was a push over and he knew it.

Kakashi sat at the opposite end from her, beside Sasuke. The pink haired girl placed herself between the Uchiha and Naruto.

"This is Arashi. We're not related or anything, but she's like a big sister to me, y'know!"

"Hi," she leaned forward to see everyone. "Well, I know all of your names, I think." She pointed to the girl with pink hair. "Sakura, right?"

Her eyes lit up from the recognition, "Yes, Arashi-san."

"Naruto's mentioned you a bit."

Naruto blushed. Some days, he went on about her for hours.

"Oh, really?" She laughed, uncomfortably.

"Don't worry. Only good things." Arashi informed her. _My teammates couldn't stand the ground I walked on. She should be happy._

Despite trying to tune it out, Arashi was aware of the love triangle between the three. She wondered if Naruto's version of the ordeal was the most accurate, but it was all she had to go by. From what she gathered, the Uzumaki had a crush on Sakura, but she was only interested in the Uchiha. In turn, Sasuke would have nothing to do with her.

 _I'm glad that wasn't going on in my group._ She cleared her throat, "Could I have some water? Tap is fine."

The owner's daughter, Ayame, nodded at her request.

"Neh, tell them about yourself! Like, y'know, Kakashi Sensei had us talk about likes and dislikes, dreams, and hobbies. Stuff like that!"

Arashi accepted a cup of water from Ayame with a whispered thanks.

"He also poked you in the butt and threw you in a pond," Sakura mumbled.

The medic nearly snorted water through her nose, " _What_?"

Naruto groaned in embarrassment – momentarily forgetting the ramen in front of him.

Arashi leaned forward so that Kakashi could meet her gaze, "I really hope you washed your hands before coming here."

"Ew." Sakura covered her mouth.

Sasuke snorted, quietly.

Kakashi's one visible eye narrowed at the Chuunin.

"Okay," Arashi leaned back. "I'll answer your questions, Naruto-kun. I like stuff. I dislike things. I've had all sorts of dreams this week, and I guess breathing is my favorite hobby."

The three Genin squinted at her.

"Neh, Sis? You're not as funny as you think you are, y'know."

"Pfft, fine! I like learning and developing new jutsu. I dislike a lot of stuff, but nothing worth mentioning. My driving motivation isn't really a dream. I just want to be as useful as I can be as a medical nin. As for hobbies? I go through spells of reading a bit, I help my mother with her salon – which isn't much of a hobby, I like collecting mementos from missions, and hmm… talking about myself is weird."

"That's more than what Kakashi Sensei had to say!" Naruto informed her through a mouthful of ramen.

"Naruto, don't talk with your mouth full!" Sakura scolded him and then added, "Yeah, we just got his name."

Arashi glanced over to the Jounin. His bowl was completely empty and he sat with his nose in a book, ignoring them.

 _Wow, he eats fast – oh kami, is that what I think it is?_ Her eye twitched. _He's openly reading smut in front of these kids?_

She never would have pegged him as that kind of person.

Naruto followed her stare over to the Jounin and to the empty bowl, "If you're so hungry, have some of mine!"

He thrust his noodle laden chopsticks in her face and she barely managed to choke back a gag.

"You idiot, ramen's one of her dislikes," Sasuke stated, flatly.

His blue eyes widened and he stared at her, as if to say _"No. Not ramen. You can't betray me like this."_

She stared back at him with her best poker face.

Sakura giggled, "Oh, Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. She could almost see an aura of loathing around the boy as he turned to glare at the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, don't call me an idiot, you dumbass!"

Sakura gasped.

Arashi finished her drink and stood.

"Well, I have some stuff to do," she shrugged at Kakashi. "Good luck with your new team. I think you're going to need it."

She waited a moment for him to acknowledge what she said, but he continued reading. The first meal Team 7 shared together quickly deteriorated into bickering. Arashi stood behind them, picking at her scarf because it felt inappropriate to just walk away, but she felt awkward hovering.

Her lips thinned into a line, "Um, I'll be going?"

Kakashi blinked and finally regarded her, "Huh? Did you say something?"

Her eyes narrowed. She knew he heard her just fine.

"Oh, it was nothing," she replied, sweetly. "Now, if you'll excuse me.."

She ducked out of Ichiraku Ramen and made her escape. She had no interest in pulling the two boys apart that day. She figured that was Kakashi's responsibility, now.

 _That was very, very awkward._ She shuddered. _Oh well. Heh, now that I'm away from Naruto, I might as well find something to eat that doesn't make me sick._

* * *

Hiruzen sat at a table with a cup of tea in front of him. Another cup waited across the table, unattended. The herbal scent mingled with the smoke from his pipe, permeating the room with a rich smell.

Arashi eyed the old man, suspiciously. It was rare that he ever waited for her in order to share a drink. Normally, she would enter his library, research until her brain felt like mud, and then leave for the night without exchanging a single word with anyone else. The ANBU members that monitored her kept to themselves while the Hokage was busy with his own affairs to such an extent that she often wondered if they forgot she was a regular visitor.

"Take a seat," Hiruzen motioned toward the cup with his pipe. "I hope you don't mind tea this evening."

"Thank you, Sandaime-sama." She blew on the hot liquid. "You're thoughtful."

"Mm," He exhaled a cloud of smoke, "I wanted to discuss Naruto with you."

She swallowed over a lump in her throat, "What did he do?"

"He became a Genin." He replied. "I didn't want to be hasty, so I waited until now to speak with you about this topic."

She nodded. The tone of his voice made her nervous. This was not a lighthearted banter.

"You know what happened with the Kyuubi?"

"It attacked Konoha," she answered.

"Yes, it did, but do you know what became of the beast after that?"

She shifted in her seat, "It was sealed inside a child. A Jinchuuriki."

"Yes and that child was Naruto." His weathered face never appeared as serious to her as it did then. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

It was a taboo subject to discuss. By the Hokage's own orders, it was to be kept a secret and never be spoken of. The punishment for disobeying that order was severe.

"Yes," she replied, quietly. "I already knew."

"Good." His mouth quirked into a half-grin and he continued, "That will make the rest of this easier. The Yondaime sealed the demon inside Naruto using the Hakke no Fuin Shiki. It is a powerful fuinjutsu and has since performed its function well, but the drawback of the technique is that with time, it weakens."

Her back stiffened, "Yeah – erm, that goes for _most_ fuinjutsu."

The response jumped out of her mouth before she considered the situation. The Hakke no Fuin Shiki was one of the forbidden techniques contained in the Scroll of Sealing, which was one of the texts in the library that she assumed was off limits. She had been caught with it before, but not in such a way that it revealed how much she had really studied from it.

"I mean," she mumbled into her cup, "I sort of looked into it some time ago."

"I see." The old man chuckled, "I would be lying if I claimed that allowing you privileges here was solely for the benefit of your own projects."

Arashi stared at him, "What do you mean?"

"My interest in the Fuin Shugotenshi did not only pertain to the concept of a new medical jutsu. When your notes were first shown to me, my interest in what you _could_ be was piqued. Watching your progress has been interesting."

She had no idea what to say, so she settled for a simple, "Oh."

"Sensor types are rare. Since your aptitude in that area was first discovered, we have kept an eye on your progress. Ibiki did well cultivating it while you were under his tutelage." He placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. "My point is this: your sensitivity to chakra and your knack with fuinjutsu can be of great use in the mission I'm assigning you to."

"Mission?" She blinked.

"I have confidence in Kakashi's ability to look after Naruto, but after the tragedy that occurred twelve years ago, I feel that caution is wise. As the seal is now, we have nothing to worry about concerning the Kyuubi breaking free. With time, though, it will be a real threat. Naruto is now stepping into a different lifestyle – one filled with violence. I'm not sure how struggling for his life will affect the seal or how much influence the Kyuubi will have over him." Hiruzen explained. "Do you understand?"

"I believe so, yes."

"The mission is this: shadow Naruto, observe his chakra and how well the seal is functioning. Study how it is affected as he takes missions and is faced with new hardships. If there is any strange or negative reaction, manage it and then report to me." He took a draw from his pipe. "Not all Jinchuuriki are able to manage the demons contained within them and some have been known to become very dangerous to those around them."

"Does Kakashi know about this mission, yet?"

"I will brief him on it later this evening." He replied.

"How long will this last? What about my duties in the hospital?"

"The duration is indefinite, but don't worry. Right now, as a new Genin, Naruto will remain within the village. The only missions he will be trusted with will be D ranked, at first. That means you will be able to continue much of your usual routine, as long as you are able to still monitor the seal. Keep in mind, Kakashi is one of Konoha's most capable Jounin, so you are not alone in this."

Arashi nodded, "I'll begin preparing, immediately."

"Good. This mission, even if it will appear boring and tedious, is of an A ranked importance."

Her eyes widened. This was her first A ranked mission.

"I suggest studying fuinjutsu that could contain or suppress the immense strength of the Kyuubi's chakra. You should have ample time to do so – and something tells me you have a head-start in familiarizing yourself with some of them."

She cleared her throat and picked at the scarf around her neck, "Sorry."

"I also suggest discussing all of this with Kakashi. It would be wise to build a good working relationship with him. This mission is to be confidential, so keep it a secret from Naruto and the rest of the Genin on Team 7."

"Yes, Sandaime-sama," her lips thinned into a line. "What am I supposed to tell them? When they start taking higher ranked missions, I mean. The traditional conformation of a group is comprised of the three Genin and their Jounin Sensei."

His face creased with amusement, "For all they know, you're simply a Chuunin shadowing after her senpai. What you tell them is your choice, but I suggest consulting Kakashi before you spin your tale."

She nodded, "Yes, Sandaime-sama."

He finished his tea and stood, "I will leave you to prepare, then."

Arashi sat, staring into her tea until long after it was cold. The entire time she thought that she was allowed admission there because her projects showed promise was a deception – not to say that her projects did not show promise – but the truth of the situation was that it allowed them to mold her into something more useful to their causes.

 _How long has he had me in mind for this mission?_

No one could deny the favor that the Third Hokage showed Naruto. He pardoned the boy's vandalism and pranks, and he protected him as best as he could from the people that would harm him out of fear for the demon he contained. He even went so far as to give the boy one of Konoha's most elite as a Sensei to look after him. The revelation that he had secretly been grooming her to keep a watchful eye on him, as well, was of little surprise once she thought about it.

Her lips curved into a half-hearted smile. A shinobi's worth was judged by usefulness.

 _That's okay, though. If I can help Naruto deal with some of his hardships, then I don't mind._

For the first time since she was given permission to use the Hokage's personal library, she walked directly to content she was cautioned away from. She had looked through several of those texts before, but always as secretly as she could - which turned out was not secretive enough because they were onto her antics from the beginning. It reminded her of Ibiki's test. They were instructed to not get caught cheating, because cheating well was one of the points of the test. She was told to develop her fuinjutsu, but as she researched, she delved into forbidden techniques in order to get her projects to work correctly.

Looking back, it felt like just another test.

By sharing her notes and progress with Hiruzen, she showed him the ingenuity she possessed while also unwittingly revealing which forbidden fuinjutsu she based certain parts of her works after.

 _That's what they wanted, wasn't it?_

As long as it was reasonable, most did not care what a shinobi did as long as it was profitable for their Land. Realizing that a shinobi ceased to matter once they were no longer useful was often a defining point in a ninja's career.

Arashi was not well suited to battle, but she was determined to never be a discarded tool.

She would mend the wounds of her allies, track her enemies to the ends of the world, and use her life as kindling for the Will of Fire to continue burning, if need be. Now she would devote herself to this task.

"Ahah!" She found what she was looking for.

Hiruzen's collection of texts covered many things from techniques, history, and sciences to political correspondences and much more. The scroll she placed on the table held information on the previous Jinchuuriki that contained the Kyuubi, as well as the scant bits of information collected about the Jinchuuriki of other villages. She had avoided looking into this for a long time, because it was painful to link bright and lively Naruto to a demon, but Ibiki taught her that knowledge translated to power when used correctly. She needed to know as much as possible so that she could better deal with what was coming.

Arashi's eyebrows knit together.

Each of the Kyuubi's three Jinchuuriki were from the same clan. Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage's wife, was the first. The second was Uzumaki Kushina.

 _Each Uzumaki and two were married to a kage._ _I get that their clan was huge with fuinjutsu. Almost all of my seals are from their creations or somehow derived from some of them in one way or another._ _But why just that clan?_ She went to where a collection of information on different clans was kept. _Ahh, here we go. Hmm. Strong life force, known to have huge chakra pools, feared for their fuinjutsu. Well, I guess they're strong enough to make resilient hosts._

She went back to the table to continue what she was reading before.

There was a plethora of side effects connected to having a demon sealed inside one's body and they all seemed to vary from person to person, which tailed beast it was, and which seal was used.

Arashi snorted.

 _Well, it looks like these people got creative with their seals..._

The way in which the Hakke no Fuin Shiki operated was much more effective than most of the fuinjutsu used by other villages, but it also meant that Naruto would be more guarded earlier in life from the influences of the Kyuubi. It gave his body time to acclimate to the gradual changes of the seal weakening, but it also meant that the path in front of him would be long and hard. In the years to come, a can of worms would slowly open and dealing with the demon would become increasingly difficult.

 _Oh, my poor Naruto-kun..._

She rested her face in her hands. The Third Hokage said that the mission was indefinite and now she realized why. It would last until either Naruto learned how to deal with the Kyuubi after the seal had weakened altogether or until they were forced to transfer the demon into another host.

Even the favor of a kage could not make up for the hardships the boy had faced and those that were still to come.

* * *

That's it for Chapter 1 of Part 3!

I'm a dirty, filthy troll. I never intended for Arashi to leave the village at any point to be a criminal. I've put too much work into trying to make her a decent character and not a full-blown Mary Sue. If she ran off to be with Itachi, that would undo all of the hard work I've put into Part 2. I hope I didn't scare you guys too badly. xD

I meant to wait at least two weeks before I posted this, but I gave in.

* * *

 **castielshumanheart** : I did, indeed, like your review! And I will also go ahead and apologize for the trolling I did with the sneak peek (I'm a terrible person).

I enjoy highlighting darker aspects of the series in my fanfiction, but I don't intend to keep it too serious and sad. I feel that a good story should mirror certain things from real like - such as having both ups and downs. Without those bad times, the good times wouldn't feel quite as great, you know? Beyond that, I'm very happy that you liked Arashi's character development and that you approved of a lot of the things I went for in the fanfiction. :) When I went through with cutting her throat, I had decided that I really wanted her faults or weaknesses (not being as able in battle as others, being outwitted to some extent, etc) to come back and bite her in a way that lingered and followed her for the rest of her life.

It's hard to not be jaded after going through some stuff and having a hard time swallowing some of the harsher truths in the ninja world, but future updates will show whether it changes her into something she hates and fears or if she'll simply grow stronger.

I never intended for the friendship between Arashi and Itachi to have so much focus in the fanfiction, but it sort of happened and I'm okay with that. Choosing an ending to their friendship that didn't quite have that closure of knowing everything that went through his head is probably what helped me go through with it and not scrap it early on because I was afraid of it being too cliche.

Team 7 really was a bunch of drama, drama, drama. xD I'm glad you liked Akio and Daisuke. I often worried that they were boring or tedious, but I didn't feel right not giving them a chance to develop a bit. Sure, the storyline was focused on Arashi, but I didn't want all of the other OCs to suffer to the point of having no depth or substance. Their attitudes and progress also show that I like dysfunctional characters, I think. lol (I had too much fun writing them terrorizing the other teams in the Chuunin Exams). I'd like to think that Ibiki was proud, even if he kept it to himself.

Oh my, I've enjoyed your review and I appreciate it. :) Don't ever think it's useless or ranting.

 **Windschatten** : You flatter me! I'm not even sure what to say other than that I know that you're a wonderful writer, yourself, and I hold your story in high regards. :)

Sometimes, it felt daunting to finish Part 2 with the massacre because it was something everyone knew was coming. I worried that it would feel too much like rehash (which I will worry about tenfold more for Part 3)! But your words do comfort and encourage me a bit, so thank you.

I can't say how happy it makes me that you enjoyed so many of the OCs and their interactions. xD Ahh! Life brings many ups and downs and those good times and bad times bring about change. With time and more updates, it will be shown what has changed with Arashi after all of this (even though I will miss certain aspects, myself).

There will be so much Kakashi in Part 3… it's going to end up being overindulgent. Hahah More so in the next chapter, though.

Thank you for your support and all of your kind reviews! I've loved them all and I think you're fantastic. :)

 **Misora Asuka** : I apologize for being a terrible troll. Arashi's heart is in Konoha, even if she questions her career and she is not entirely happy at this point. I suppose I would call her jaded.

It blows me away that you liked Arashi so much as a character. When I started her out, I found her to be so very annoying, which was what I was going for. At some point, she sort of just decided she was going to develop into something completely different. One of her early concepts was to be a _parody sue_ , but that didn't quite happen. xD

The issue with having a lot of OCs is that it's hard to give each the time they deserve in order to develop. Add in other canon characters with them and, well… I always tried to touch bases with them, but I do wish I had a bit more content for them in Part 2. :D Oh well. Part 3 offers a little bit of time to further develop them.

Don't worry! I intend for there to be plenty of Naruto, Kakashi, and Kazika (even if Kazika is busy in the Academy and will take a back seat for a little bit here and there).

Thank you so much for your reviews, your input, and your support! I appreciate it all!

 **osnapitzlivia** : I don't know why I decided to troll everyone and make the sneak peek a psyche out. Hahah But I am happy that you don't think she is a Mary Sue! That's always been my main concern.

Early on, I found Daisuke, Akio, and Ibiki much more enjoyable to write than Arashi. :) A bunch of snarky and gruff people, they are.

I debated which kind of animal I would choose for Arashi's summon for a while before I settled on Sukai. At first, I planned on him taking on an almost fatherly role with her, but that was too fluffy. I decided he would look after her, but have absolutely no manners at the same time.

Itachi wasn't meant to have such a large part, originally. It sort of just happened. I wanted to focus on how kind he was before the massacre, since there was precious little of that in canon.

xD Thank you for your reviews! Haha And there will be plenty of Kakashi from now on. I hope you enjoy Part 3.

 **a Wiccan** : I'm glad that you liked that jerk of a bird and Arashi's dysfunctional team. :) And I realize again right now that I'm drawn to writing characters that are very mean to each other…

Thank you for your review and I hope you enjoy Part 3!

 **Guest** : Shhh, it's okay. It's going to be okay.

 **Guest** : I was just trolling. xD Arashi wouldn't betray Naruto that way and she loves her family too much to abandon them.


	2. Boundaries

**Chapter 2: Boundaries**

First off, I'd like to say that I am so, so, so sorry about disappearing! I had a lot of things going on with work (and I'm actually getting ready to move on to a different job)! But, thankfully, I am back and I will be able to make regular updates. I meant for this to be completed and posted Friday, buuut..

I'd also like to thank everyone that read, added this as a favorite, and everyone that reviewed. It means a lot to me! :)

Also – **Windschatten** recently updated **The Tale of Two Leaves** and I absolutely dig it. I adore how she spins a story together and generates so much intrigue and mystery with each chapter, while feeding the readers character development and cuteness as she goes. I definitely recommend it!

* * *

 **Chapter Summary** : _Arashi once again learns that nothing goes quite as smoothly as she hopes it will._

* * *

 **Chapter Song** : Silversun Pickups – Skin Graphs

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Arashi woke up, face down in a pile of books. Her mind was in a haze. With a jolt she sat up and peeled a piece of paper from her face. She blinked a few times, trying to piece together why she was still in the library and why she was using a very old and very valuable scroll as a makeshift blanket.

Then it dawned on her – she had fallen asleep before she consulted Kakashi about her mission.

 _No, no, no!_

She shot to her feet and began cramming everything back into place.

 _Dammit, ANBU-san, can't you take the time to at least nudge me awake instead of leaving me here all night?_

It was far from the first time she had slept there. During her Chuunin Exams, she made it her home. As nice as it would have been for the agent monitoring her to wake her up instead of leaving her, he was not there to babysit her and she accepted that.

She drug a hand through her hair, her fingers catching in several knots, as she rushed from the building. There was no time to make sure she was presentable, as much as it vexed her. First, she needed to find Kakashi and speak to him about what the Third expected of her. With his cooperation, they were to look after Naruto and keep an eye on the seal that held the Kyuubi in check. They needed to come to an agreement about her cover story.

The sky was still dark as she leaped from rooftop to rooftop. She scanned through the signatures in the village until she located Kakashi – her throat tight with panic. Never in her life had she performed badly on a mission and they had all been B Ranked and lower. This was the highest ranking mission she had ever been assigned to and she felt like an amateur. Chuunin were rarely selected to handle something of such importance. She would have cut her own foot off with a blunt kunai rather than disappoint the Hokage and make herself look like an idiot to the Elite shinobi she had to work with for an indefinite amount of time.

 _I can't believe I've done this to myself._

She took a steadying breath.

 _Alright, I'll just go talk to him. I don't even have to explain what happened. I can just play it off like I was busy, maybe come up with a cover story concerning the hospital… something._

Arashi tracked her target until she came to an apartment complex. It was a fairly standard setup in Konoha, meant for shinobi use. She had never been inside this one, but most of the people she sensed within were ninjas.

 _Alright, this is one step out of the way._

She paused on the street and chewed on her lips.

 _What if he's asleep? Should I scale up the side of the building and tap at his window or should I knock on his door? I mean, what's the correct etiquette in this sort of situation?_

She wondered briefly if his bed was near a window or if he was a deep sleeper and which method would seem more polite.

 _Now I'm just stalling. I'll just knock on the door._

The kunoichi squared her shoulders and found her way inside.

Arashi liked for things to be done in a professional manner. It was a preference instilled in her by her father, especially in recent years. She could never be sure, but she felt that Ookami sensed her need for stability after the massacre and proceeded to offer it to her as much as he could. In doing so, he took her more firmly under his wing in order to teach her more intricate medical techniques. Over the years, her father had become her dearest friend – which was of no surprise.

The time she spent working with him matched, if not outweighed, the time that she spent with her old teammates. Akio and Daisuke kept schedules as busy as she did, albeit filled with different work. Overall, the environments she inhabited the most were formal and businesslike.

When it came down to it, Arashi was a stick in the mud that liked to feel as if she was in control.

 _This is… this is just going to be such a great impression. The Chuunin assigned to look after his student, showing up on his doorstep at an ungodly hour, her hair in knots and her eyes wild. Great._

She ascended until she was on the appropriate level and then walked to his door.

 _What if he's a generally moody and unbearable person when he first wakes up?_

Her hands found the end of her scarf and she worried at the threads with her fingers. If there was one thing she had learned about herself, it was that in all the things she did she was fierce. When she threw herself into research, she delved deeply and did not come up for air until she was finished – when she was angry it was white hot and the mood only passed away when it flared too brightly and it extinguished itself – when she cared for someone, she worried after them – and just as she did with the rest of her focus, when she worried she did so fiercely.

Her concern that he would be asleep was quickly swept away. She could feel his signature stirring within as he moved about in the apartment. It was like there was a lightning storm that coursed through his veins.

 _Was it like that before?_

She had no memory of his signature being as vivid when she saw him during the finals of her Chuunin Exam. Then again, she was distracted and saw him only briefly. She had been near people with a natural lightning affinity many times before without paying much attention to whether it made her skin tingle or not.

Arashi blamed her nerves, shrugged the thought away and tapped several times on the door with her knuckles.

A moment passed before it opened.

One of the Jounin's eyebrows arched when he saw that it was her.

"Uh, hello." Arashi greeted him.

Kakashi crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. From what she could tell, he was ready to begin his day. He wore the standard flak vest issued to all Chuunin and Jounin, over a black shirt and pants. The hitai-ate covered one of his eyes, his mask was snuggly in place, and all of his pouches and bags were secure on his body.

 _Okay, so he's a morning person._ She cleared her throat, "We need to talk."

She mentally prepared herself for some sort of remark or quip, but none came. The Jounin pushed away from the doorframe and went inside.

 _Alright. This is going along okay._

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

It was a studio apartment that offered everything a single shinobi needed. In other words, it was a glorified closet. There was a bed, a desk, a plant, two pictures by the window, a kitchenette to the far left of the room, and a door that she assumed lead into the bathroom. The open floorplan did little to make it feel larger, but it allowed her to scope her surroundings with ease. She had vague memories of the house that he had lived in when he was fourteen and it was nothing like this. The only thing his apartment had that caught her eye was the wall that was converted into a bookshelf by his bed. One glance in its direction revealed a decent collection of various texts.

 _Alright, well read and very organized._

"Mah, for someone that wanted to talk, you're being very quiet."

She blinked out of her thoughts and mumbled, "Sorry, I'm sort of still gathering my thoughts."

Kakashi stood in front of the sink, washing a few dishes. The scent of his breakfast still clung to the air and her stomach clenched with hunger.

 _I guess he just finished eating._ Arashi decided to keep their conversation centered on business, "Sandaime-sama advised me to speak with you about my mission. He said that he would brief you on everything, too."

"You're going to be monitoring Naruto's seal." he replied.

Her eyes fell on his hands as he dried a bowl. His fingers were long and slender.

"Yeah," she jerked her gaze up to his face when he turned to regard her. "I never thought I'd be assigned to do anything like this, to be honest. You're his Sensei, so I don't want to do anything you're not okay with. I mean, I don't want to smother your team and I don't want to be a nuisance, so my main concern right now is a convincing cover up story and some coordination between the two of us."

He leaned against the bar and once again crossed his arms, "I spoke to Sandaime-sama about that, as well."

"Oh? Well, did he have any good suggestions?"

"A few," his voice picked up an amused tone, "I liked the one that involves me introducing you as my overly eager kohai, shadowing in order to learn a few things."

She squinted at him, "With all due respect, no."

"Oh, well, what have you come up with?" He asked; his one visible eye half-lidded and bored.

The kunoichi adjusted her glasses and gathered her thoughts, "Well, I thought that I could pass it off as a study of sorts. Naruto-kun knows I'm usually busy with some sort of research, so he'd buy into it quickly."

"What kind of study would this be?"

"Erm, training techniques and the bonds between each squad in order to determine which methods are the most effective?"

"Why this year and not any of the previous?" He deadpanned.

"Well, if they asked that sort of question, I guess I'd just pass it off as being a new decision. If they continued to ask questions, I could tell them it was in part because most of the rookies that passed are from Konoha's notable clans – I really do think all of their parents had a pregnancy pact or something – and I'm sure I could get Iruka-san to accept a few reports from me concerning training techniques and lessons so it could be like a joint study for educational purposes." She explained – she more or less made half of it up as she went – and then watched him expectantly for a response.

The stare he gave her made her feel like she needed a reality check, "Pregnancy pact?"

"Um, yeah, just a theory." She waved it away, embarrassed. "Nothing we need to get into now."

"Mah, alright."

"Well?" She urged him. "What do you think of my plan?"

"It's passable."

 _Just passable?_ She frowned, "Okay, so we've agreed on that. When are you going to introduce me to them?"

He shrugged, "Sometime. I'm not really in a rush about it right now."

She hesitated for a moment, "I see."

The only thing she could assume was that he was not keen on the idea of her presence or the implications her mission could have on the dynamics of his squad. The role of Sensei was honorable and each Sensei played a key role in the continued function of their village's military. The bonds they formed with their students were of a special kind – just as she cherished her connection with Ibiki and still held him in high regards. It made sense that he would want to care for his squad on his own.

"I'm not looking to be invasive or to push myself into your business," she explained. "I know that you can handle everything. I believe that you're more than capable. My main duty is to look after Naruto-kun's seal. Sure we don't have much to worry about now and yes, seals often leak and show signs when they're weakening, but…"

"With fuinjutsu, the seal could come undone all at once and the Kyuubi will be free."

"Exactly." She nodded. "Like Kushina-san."

"She was a pregnant Jinchuuriki," Kakashi commented. "The demon was able to escape because her body was diverting focus to Naruto."

 _He's studied this before,_ She shook her head, "Yes, but we don't know how Naruto-kun is going to hold up over time. The Hakke no Fuin Shiki is strong and its design lends itself well to keeping the Kyuubi under control and just allowing minimal amounts of its chakra into its host's system, but there will definitely be future complications."

"Kushina-san's experiences are well documented and can be used as a good reference for what we might have to deal with in time."

It occurred to her that everything she was trying to explain, he already knew and if he did not then he followed along with the concepts with ease. She could not get a clear reading of the man, either. In fact, she was certain that he did not want to be read. His gestures appeared to be passive – too passive. The few signals he allowed her to see clashed with his stance and the flow of his chakra.

 _I guess that makes sense. I mean, he was in ANBU for how long? Sensei taught me how to analyze people, but how much has Kakashi dealt with him, directly? He's no fool. From what I can tell, he's very intelligent._ She cleared her throat, "I apologize if I seem like I'm trying to give a lecture. It's not my intention. I'm just used to having to explain everything in detail. Do you have any insights or requests?"

"I want weekly reports concerning the seal," he drawled out in a bored tone. "According to some reports I read yesterday, you have a pretty good sensory range, so you won't have to be with us in order to keep a check on Naruto."

A chill ran down her spine. While she had been researching seals and Jinchuuriki, he had been researching her.

She nodded, "That's right, but I would still like to coordinate training exercises with you and your squad in order to reinforce my cover up story. Otherwise, when you guys go out of the village on a C-Ranked mission, it would be weird that I'm tagging along."

"You could always follow from a distance."

"Um."

Several scenarios played out in her head in that instant. Shadowing behind them would work for a while – until they gained experience, honed their skills, and got good enough to figure out that she was following them. It would take some time before they would be capable of that – or she would accidentally out herself like a moron and have to live with the humiliation.

"I'd rather go with the cover up and make my presence known on occasion."

Kakashi shrugged, "Well, if that's what you want to do. There's really not much of a reason for you to stress over it too much at this point. The first missions a team of Genin can take on are D-Ranked and if Naruto hasn't shown any problems with his seal yet, then chances are problems won't spike up while he's reading a grocery list."

"Yeah," her lips thinned into a line. "I agree."

"So, this gives all of us a little more freedom. At least for now, that is."

There was something about his tone that put her off – like he was smoothly working his way toward a point.

"Sandaime-sama seemed to believe the same thing."

"See? Which means you won't have to neglect your other responsibilities, like working in the hospital with your father or _sleeping_ in Sandaime-sama's library."

Her face burned, "Oh, uhm, you know about that?"

He closed his eye in a smile – a gesture that rubbed salt in her stinging pride, "I thought that since you hadn't come to me to discuss this that I'd find you."

"You could've woken me up."

"Oh, I guess I could have," he replied, too sweetly, "But you looked so comfortable, wrapped up in the Scroll of Sealing, drooling on the little bit of information we have concerning Yagura."

At that moment, Arashi wanted to turn around and walk out of his apartment without another word. He was making her feel like she was once again a clueless six year old and not an established kunoichi that had stared death in the face and clawed her way out of numerous dangerous situations. She vividly remembered him as a boy, tying a bow back into her hair and her gratitude as he cleaned and bandaged her knees after Akio knocked her off a swing – but that boy was twelve years in the past and she now had to deal with the current Kakashi.

Several excuses came to the tip of her tongue. She could have tried to make light of it, but his manner of talking to her had taken her by surprise. One moment he was laid back, the next he was serious.

Arashi made a mental note to pay attention to how he teased her with his words – she needed to determine whether it was his way of being playful or of critiquing her and if it was the latter, then she wanted to know if it was meant in a friendly manner or if he was being underhanded. She was no stranger to sarcasm, thanks to Daisuke, but she had a hunch that this man was cleverer with his use of it.

With a deep breath, she chose to face her embarrassment before she drowned in it. She could not have him thinking she was irresponsible.

"I get too wrapped up in studies and I work myself too hard when I feel like I've hit a decent vein of information that I need," she stated, honestly. "I know that I've presented myself terribly as a first impression on this mission, but it means more to me than you know.

He was once a captain in ANBU. From her observations of Ibiki, she understood that each member was strictly disciplined, their missions carried a staggering amount of weight, and their lives revolved around their duties.

"Naruto-kun really is like a little brother to me and I've regretted that I've been unable to fill the biggest voids in his life. If anything, I want to be his most dedicated support as he learns and comes to terms with what was forced on him. That is why I became so obsessive as I read about what it is to be a Jinchuuriki and that is why I exhausted myself to such an extent that I fell asleep when I should have been doing other things. It is not because I do not take this mission seriously." She explained. "So, while I don't want to smother your squad and I don't want to step on your toes, I want to be present and I want to extend my help in any way that I can."

He waited until she was done explaining herself.

"Well, then, you sound dedicated." He straightened to his full height. "Now that we've talked about all of this, I think we should stop wasting time. If that's the cover story you're intent on using, you need to run it by Sandaime-sama and then work on establishing ties with Iruka to give it merit. I have some things I need to do this morning, so, if you'd leave, that would be nice."

"Oh, okay." She backed away from him, "But when are you going to introduce me to them formally so we can explain the situation to them?"

He sighed, as if it took all of his long suffering to deal with her questions, "Find me this evening."

For the first time during their entire exchange, she grinned, "Alright, Kakashi-san."

"You might want to take a shower and scrub the dried drool from your face, first."

The grin died on her lips and a scowl took its place.

* * *

 _He just had to get the last word in, didn't he?_

Arashi walked through the still deserted streets of Konoha. Only now was the sky beginning to lighten with the promise of the coming sunrise. Normally, the air took on an almost magical quality as the darkness prepared to give away to the light of day, but she was too preoccupied to notice. Instead, she was analyzing the exchange she had with the Jounin in an attempt to pick it apart for more information on the man.

 _I pour a portion of my heart out to him concerning Naruto and all he has to say is that I 'sound dedicated'? If he looked at a report about me, maybe he should have taken the time to look at the show of dedication I've had on all of my other missions. Freaking jerk._

She turned down an alleyway she always used as a shortcut.

 _And the way he told me to leave? He could have been a little more polite. I mean, I get it – he doesn't see a point in me basically stalking his squad, but it's not like I'm too keen on the idea, either. The more I think about it, the more I pick up on some passive aggressive vibes coming from him._

On most of the missions she participated in, she was treated with a certain kind of respect because of her status as a medic. It was only during her earlier missions that she had to establish her place on a squad and that was because it was strange to see someone young as a taichou. As shallow as it was, she learned that shinobi judged each other just as civilians judged each other – just by different standards. Arashi had been judged for her age, the type of clothing she was drawn to, and the extents she went to take care of her appearance. Most kunoichi, while they did care, went for more minimalistic and practical things. It took years for her to come to terms and even agree with it, but she did still wear more makeup than the common kunoichi and she refused to wear the standard flak vest that was collecting dust in her closet.

She had toned her overall look down and accepted that a little went a long way. Looking back, she cringed at the amount of foundation she sometimes used – albeit unintentionally. She made herself look like a civilian that was trying too hard to grow up.

Arashi adjusted her scarf.

 _I've dealt with people more difficult than him before, I'm sure._ She mentally encouraged herself. _He'll come around. It might take a little bit of time, but I'm sure he'll come to terms with it. I mean, who wouldn't want a medic nearby to assist their Genin if something goes wrong during training or on a mission?_

Despite her optimistic thoughts, she had a nagging feeling that it was not going to be that simple. They were now partners, even though most of his responsibilities in the matter centered around his new position as Sensei while she would carry most of the weight concerning the parameters of the mission. There would be no more C or B Ranked missions for her, unless she accompanied Naruto on his. She could no longer leave the village or take time off, because she had to be present enough to look after him – for an indefinite number of years.

She direly needed to form good connections with Kakashi or this mission would be unbearable.

 _Screw it. I've been walking through the village, fretting over all of this too much just because he embarrassed me a bit. I still don't know if he meant it in a teasing or underhanded way, but that doesn't really matter right now. I need to go home, clean myself up, and start working on my end of this mission._

Arashi was certain that Hiruzen would approve of the plan. It was simple and would not be hard to back up. After she came to an agreement with him, she intended to seek out Iruka to establish their coordination during her 'study'.

 _Way better than just presenting myself like some mouth-breathing fan that hopes her senpai will notice her or something._

When she stepped into her home, she was greeted by the smell of her mother preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Once again, her stomach clenched in protest. She had forgotten to eat the evening before.

 _Well, I got home at a pretty good time, I guess._

She removed her boots and poked her head into the kitchen to see what her mother had in mind for that morning.

Ookami and Kazika were already seated at the table. Her father was looking over some paperwork he brought home with him while her brother was pouring over classwork. Before either of them could greet Arashi, her mother turned from the stove to regard her and she froze. She knew her mother had something to say when one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose to form an arch or when her lips pursed almost into a pout.

"There you are! You didn't come home last night." Naomi eyed her from across the room, forgetting about the food she was tending to. "Somebody looks like a mess this morning. Never going to find a decent man looking like that, Sweetie."

"Yeah, yeah, Mom," Arashi mumbled, "I know."

Ookami glanced up from his work and took in his daughter's profile, "Late night?"

"Yeah."

Arashi would be eternally grateful that her father never teased her for her haggard appearance and that he understood what it was like to drag in at all hours of the night or in this case, early morning.

The middle aged man pulled a chair out for her, "Breakfast's almost ready."

She dropped into the chair and rubbed her temples, "Thanks."

"I just don't know why you do this to yourself." Naomi continued fussing, but turned back to the stove. "I mean, isn't sleeping in your own bed better than falling asleep over a book or… wherever it is you end up?"

"Of course it is, Mom." She sighed, "It's not like I do this on purpose. I'm awake one second and the next I'm waking up."

Naomi continued as if she did not hear her daughter's response, "Taking after your father like that – working too hard, too late, being gone all the time."

Ookami's brow creased and he glanced toward his wife, sheepishly.

 _Yeahh, Mom's not having a good morning, I guess…_

"And _you_ , Kazika!" The woman directed her displeasure to the last of the three sitting at the table, "Putting your schoolwork off until the last minute!"

For the first time, the boy tore his eyes from the papers in front of him in order to regard his mother with a wary expression. He almost said something, but a subtle shake of his father's head stilled the words on his lips. It was better to not talk back to Naomi when she was in this kind of mood, whether it was to justify, explain, or reason with her. The words would either not be heard or it would fuel her displeasure even more.

His shoulders sagged with a sigh of defeat and he turned his attention back to his work.

Kazika had grown a lot since he first started at the Academy. He had since grown taller, grew thinner, and no longer boasted the babyfat that once lured women to pinch his cheeks. His hair was still a natural mess and his eyes were bright and expressive, but he was well on his way to leaving his childhood behind.

Arashi almost missed how excited he used to be when she would make it home and how insistent he was that she played with him.

 _Those days are pretty much gone, though._

She overtly scanned what he was reading and frowned.

 _He isn't working on homework – he's studying for a test._

She was sure he would do well enough. His grades were good, even if he was never at the top of the class. He understood that he had to apply himself in order to make it out of the Academy and he typically did so.

"Do you want any help with that, Kazika?" Ookami inquired.

When Arashi was a student, he was always sure to help her when he could. Looking back, she could not remember a single time that she turned him down. He was intelligent and managed to explain some of the content better than the instructors in the Academy, without making her feel silly for not understanding something.

"No," Kazika shook his head, "I've got this. I don't need any help with it."

The man frowned and resumed what he was doing.

Arashi had witnessed that scene many times. At some point, Kazika had begun to seek independence. Ookami was a patient man, but sometimes she caught a slight gesture or frown that indicated how disappointed he was that his son never accepted his help.

That was one of the main differences in personality between Arashi and Kazika. She was willing to accept help and loved to work in tandem with someone in order to achieve a goal. Kazika wanted to handle as much as he possibly could by himself and shunned help, even when he needed it. From what she could tell, it was nothing personal against anyone else.

 _Like there's a chip on his shoulder or something._

It worried her and she could tell that it worried her father – even if he would not address it openly. She had never been happy that her brother chose to become a ninja, but against all of her hopes he was doing well with his studies and was on his way to someday graduating. If he accomplished that, then he would have to deal with the hard truths of being a shinobi.

 _And kids that want to handle everything on their own and push their teammates away are the ones that get the harshest wakeup calls._

Arashi pushed the thought away.

Her personal character had been a mess when Ibiki got his hands on her. In fact, the attitude of her entire team was a problem. With training and the guidance of a good Sensei, they had each grown and moved beyond that point in their lives.

She had a hunch that Kazika's future Sensei had quite the job cut out for him or her.

"You three had better not work too hard today," Naomi pointed a cooking utensil at them. "And be back at a decent hour this time!"

Ookami's shoulders sagged with Kazika's and Arashi sighed.

 _I guess I wasn't the only one that was late coming home…_

* * *

Once she was done with breakfast, Arashi rushed upstairs to take a shower.

She had a lot to do that day. First, she had to see the Hokage and then corner Iruka to get him in on her plan. Once that was handled, she had to find Kakashi and pressure him into introducing her to his team and then explain the new 'study' she was over.

 _That's no big deal._

As she was putting her makeup on, she went over how she was going to present it to Hiruzen. The aged Sarutobi would likely have input for the plan and she was more than willing to accept any advice he had to offer. If she had learned anything about him, it was that he was a crafty old man and that 'coincidences' happened around him far too often.

Once she felt she was presentable and no longer the wild eyed, haphazard mess that stumbled into Kakashi's apartment that morning, she took a steadying breath and left her bright, floral room. On her way out she patted the head of the kunoichi figurine that sat on top of the music box she bought on her first C Ranked mission. At some point, she began to think of it like a good luck charm of some sort – even though she did not actually believe in luck.

It was just one of the many mementos and trinkets that decorated her cluttered bedroom with its floral curtains and girly knickknacks.

The chill of morning had passed away by the time she entered the streets of Konoha. The sun was now out and the village thrived with the rise and fall of the voices that mingled together. As much as she enjoyed the bustle of the civilians, she opted to take to the rooftops for the sake of easier travel.

 _I'll have to get with Dad after I have all of this worked out, too. I might not be able to shadow him quite as much as before, depending on how in-depth my cover up has to be._

Arashi was sure he would understand without asking too many questions. She might have brought it up to him at breakfast, but then Kazika would have picked up on her lack of details and the curiosity would have been too much for him.

 _He never would've stopped bugging me to tell him what sort of mission I'm on. Ugh._

She snorted.

 _Then again, as soon as I mention the words 'educational study', he probably would've lost all interest and left me alone. I'll have to keep that in mind._

* * *

Before long, she had requested a meeting with the Hokage and after waiting a short while with bated breath; she was ushered into a room with him.

Arashi bowed in respect and stepped forward. Smoke curled around the two shinobi, like a writhing serpent. The scent was rich and it elicited memories of the times she had spoken to him before.

He rested his chin on his interlocked hands and addressed her, "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, Sandaime-sama. I have a cover-up that I wanted to run by you."

He motioned for her to get settled, "Well, then, let's discuss it."

"Okay," she sat across from him and took a deep breath. "I thought about it for a while, and the best idea I could come up with was playing it off like a study. Since I will be shadowing and monitoring Naruto for a long time, I figured that a long term front would be required. I don't want everything I do to be a secret and I don't want to have to hide my presence and always be at a distance from him. The problem is if I go with that approach, then even with as oblivious as he can be, I know that it would only be a matter of time before he noticed something was up if I started accompanying him on his missions outside of the village."

"Of course. What is your solution?"

"Well, he knows that I'm always caught up in some sort of research and he knows that I've visited the Academy with you to do demonstrations for new students. My proposition is this: why don't we say that I am monitoring each rookie team of Genin from this class in order to study the techniques and methods in which each Sensei trains their students? I could then coordinate training sessions with Kakashi-san and mingle with each member of Team 7 and therefore, it would be less strange when I accompanied them on missions outside the village."

"All under the guise of isolating better training methods?" Hiruzen took a draw from his pipe, causing the burning tobacco to crackle in protest. "Does that mean you will be coordinating training exercises with the other two teams, as well?"

"In order to make the story more believable, I intend to." She replied. "It would not have to be too often, but if I made my presence known to each team and then if I could get some of the instructors in the Academy in on the study…"

"Then that would give your cover substance and depth."

She nodded.

"And, it could help the instructors in the Academy pick up better teaching methods. They could see which of their lessons worked the best with their students and how well it translated into their lives as Genin. Hmm…" The Third grabbed a scroll and began writing. "I approve of this idea."

Arashi blinked. _I hadn't actually thought of how beneficial it could be outside of covering my end._

It should not have surprised her that he was thinking of it that way. Every person in the village was like an extended member of his family and they had all benefitted from the elderly man's thoughtfulness through the years.

She watched the strokes of his hand with confidence that the plan would all come together.

"Take this scroll to the Academy and explain what you're doing. Each of the Genin were primarily taught by Umino Iruka and I believe he would take a special interest in this."

"Thank you, Sandaime-sama."

* * *

Just as he said, Iruka was extremely interested in what she was doing.

Most of the times she had spoken to him through the years was when Naruto was in trouble for one reason or another and even though it tested her patience, she was glad that he linked her to the often out of control boy. It made her feel that even though she felt like she let the boy down as a type of big sister, that her efforts were at least recognized.

"So, you'll be able to keep an eye on Naruto-kun?" Iruka asked, his tone hopeful.

"Well, I'll do my best. He's a bit of a handful."

The Chuunin instructor laughed – that was an understatement and they both knew it.

 _There's no denying that this guy bonded with Naruto a lot._ She grinned, "So, you'd like to help me with this joint study, Iruka-san? I'd love it if we could work together on this."

"Definitely. How often are we going to share reports with each other?"

"Let's aim for weekly reports. When they start taking missions outside the village, I might be a little delayed, but that's only because I'm going to try to escort them out some in order to see how it goes with a little more responsibility."

"Well, then, I'll see you in a week, Arashi-san?"

"Deal. I'll let you know how Naruto-kun's doing, too, okay?"

"I'd appreciate that."

It struck her as funny that he favored the boy as much as he did. Most people could not stand the ground Naruto walked on and most instructors would have favored the students that were sitting on top of the class in performance, but not Iruka.

She fully intended to use their mutual connections to the boy as a manipulation tool if she had to.

* * *

 _Okay, now that those two steps are taken care of, it's time to find Kakashi._

The advantage of being a sensor type was that it often did not take long for her to find who she was looking for. She approached their location with a sense of pride over what she had set up and the coordination that was being established between the Hokage, Iruka, and herself. Once Kakashi was added in, it would all run smoothly and she would not have to worry about coming up with weak excuses or being reduced to little more than a stalker.

 _At least today has gone by well, even if my morning was a bit unpleasant._

She traveled from rooftop to rooftop until she dropped down onto the street to close the rest of the distance. Since they were within the village and not on one of the training grounds, she assumed that they were doing missions together.

Kakashi must have expected her, because he met her before she had a chance to reach the Genin. He waited for her, casually leaning against a building with his nose in a book.

"Good evening, Kakashi-san."

He looked up from the pages to regard her, "Hey there, Arashi-chan."

 _Chan?_ She narrowed her eyes at him, "I spoke to Sandaime-sama and Iruka-san. Now I just need to meet your team."

"Hmm, alright, but I was thinking," he drawled out. "I'd like to set some boundaries before we start this."

She blinked, "Alright."

"You mentioned coordinating exercises, but I think we should take it a step farther. I'll let you know which missions are more suitable for you to tag along during. It's hard enough for me to get them to focus on tasks as it is and adding someone else into the mix will complicate things."

Arashi frowned, "You mean Naruto-kun, right?"

"He's a little odd," Kakashi admitted.

"Alright, that's fine. That will let you focus on training them without me being invasive, right?"

"Mhm." He turned a page.

 _Is he seriously butting me out?_ Her eyebrows knit together, "So, stay away until you tell me otherwise?"

"You get the gist." He answered noncommittally.

"And when you start taking them out of the village?"

"I'll let you know."

 _You've got to be joking._

Arashi's eye twitched, "So… am I allowed to meet your team today or will I have to _schedule_ a meeting?"

He shrugged, "We just finished a mission, so I guess now is as good a time as ever."

She nodded and walked by him. As soon as the Genin came into sight, she slowed her pace in order to observe them. Any observations she made would be useful in her reports to Iruka.

Sasuke stood to the side, intentionally adding some distance between himself and his teammates. The only indication he gave that he acknowledged her presence was a sidelong glance before he went back to staring off at something else.

 _That's typical behavior from him. I remember when he was such a cute, wide eyed kid. I liked that Sasuke much better._

She tried to not think of the events that led to him developing the broody disposition he now operated in.

A few feet away, the pink haired girl watched him with adoration lighting up her green eyes. Arashi mentally sighed. A large number of Genin squads had that dynamic within it. There was most definitely something alluring about the boy that stayed at the top of the class for any twelve year old girl.

 _I just hope she knows what she's in for and she didn't stick with this just because she had a crush on a boy._

Lastly, there was Naruto.

He was dirty from his head, down to his toes and she could not figure out how he managed it when his two teammates managed to remain relatively clean, but she had learned that he could manage things that defied all reason. He stood between Sasuke and Sakura, shooting a displeased glare in the Uchiha's direction.

 _Maybe I should have a talk with him about wearing bright orange as a shinobi._

She looked over at Sakura.

 _And maybe I should talk to her about wearing bright red as a shinobi._

Arashi was all for people wearing clothing that they liked and not wearing a uniform day in and day out, but sometimes it was safer to wear either neutral colors or something that was dark enough to not stand out too much.

 _Eh, they're kids and I seriously doubt their aptitude is going to land them on any espionage missions._

Whether the rookies realized it or not, they would all be fed mediocre work missions until they had trained with their Sensei enough to be trusted with a little more responsibility – and those missions were often different depending on which Sensei they had. Arashi's first C Ranked mission concerned information gathering, tracking, and then a short burst of combat to get what they needed and to prove a point for their client. Ibiki was the head of Torture and Interrogation – which meant that his team quickly learned the importance of information and how well it could be used as a weapon. They were a team that was much more geared toward using their heads than outright fighting, even though they managed well enough in that department. They were fortunate enough to be a well-rounded squad, all things considered.

Other teams excelled in combat and others were much better at tracking and capturing. Most Genin followed in the footsteps of their Sensei and thus they were geared toward certain niches and pursuits.

Judging by what she knew of Naruto, she could only assume that they would naturally excel more with missions revolving around protection and combat. She knew precious little about Kakashi and could not make many assumptions based on him as their Sensei.

"Neh, when are we going to get a cooler mission than this, Kakashi-Sensei?" Naruto whined, his arms crossed and his eyes squinted shut. "I'm like, y'know, ready to fight some guys and save damsels in distress!"

"Shut up, Naruto!" Sakura hissed at him. "All you've done is complain!"

Arashi resisted the urge to rub her temples.

The boy opened one of his eyes to regard his teammate and blinked in surprise when he saw Arashi approaching with Kakashi.

Sakura offered a friendly smile to the medic, "What are you doing here, Arashi-san?"

"Well, she's here to have a little chat with you guys," Kakashi drawled out.

The medic squinted at the Jounin, _Oh, c'mon, I was hoping you wouldn't push all of the explanation on me._

"Neh, neh! What's up, Sis? Did the old man send you to tell us we're going on a super cool mission? That would like, be so cool, y'know!"

Arashi stared at him, "Um."

Sakura looked at the boy like he was tearing through the last strands of her patience.

 _He's always had an overactive imagination, I guess._ She cleared her throat, "Actually, I was going to let you guys know that you're all a part of a new study I'll be conducting!"

Naruto squinted at her, "Study? Like what?"

"Nothing too much." She replied. "I'll just be watching some of your missions, sitting in on a few training sessions, and even coordinating an occasional exercise that will let me watch the methods and techniques Kakashi-san uses to teach you guys."

Naruto's face lit up, "I like that, y'know! Like, when I become Hokage, you'll be able to tell everyone about my life's story and stuff!"

Sasuke snorted and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's not really meant for that." Arashi explained. "I'll be doing the same with the other two groups that passed this year, too, so I won't be around for most of your missions, but you'll get to see me here and there."

The young girl's eyebrows knit together in supplication, but she chose to not ask any questions.

 _She's curious._

Arashi wanted to ask Iruka for a report concerning each of the rookies to see what he had to say about their aptitudes and characteristics.

Sasuke gave her another sidelong glance when she mentioned tagging along with them, but he returned to being detached when she caught his gaze.

"Maah, now that we have that established," Kakashi interjected, "Let's get back to work."

Instead of scowling at him like she wanted to, Arashi smiled as pleasantly as she could, "Good luck, everyone! I need to go share the news with Kurenai-san and Asuma-san."

"Neh, can we get a better mission?" Naruto barked at his Sensei.

Arashi jumped onto a roof and fumed.

 _Kakashi, you'd better not make this mission a living hell on me._

So far, things were not going as smoothly as she hoped they would.

* * *

And that's it for Chapter 2! :) Thanks to everyone for reading! Let me know what you think of the interactions between Arashi and Kakashi. I'm still trying to get accustomed to writing him. If you have any opinions, suggestions, or criticisms then let me know in a message or a review!

* * *

 **Nameless** : Ahhh, I'm sorry for the confusion! I should have put a note in the last bit that it would be started under another story. :(

And yes, Kakashi is back! Now to see how exactly that works out.

Thank you for the review and I hope that you enjoy the following chapters!

 **Guest** : I don't know how much Arashi will want to claim him as a senpai after this chapter. xD

Thank you for reviewing!

 **Invit** : I wanted to make people think that she betrayed Konoha, but mostly because I wanted to spook everyone. xD When it comes down to it, Arashi has too much to hold her in the village and she cares too deeply for her country. For all she knows, Itachi legitimately lost his mind and killed his entire family, so from a logical stance she would never side with him.

Thank you. :) I worked really hard to develop them gradually as it went on. Overpowered character that have no faults and no weaknesses aren't fun to write and I find them boring to read, so that was a huge goal of mine. Akio, Arashi, and Daisuke balanced each other as a team but they still had their weaknesses and it was fun to make them grow together from hating each other.

A part of me still can't believe I've finally made it to content with Kakashi. xD ah! Now to see how he and Arashi deal with each other.

Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters!

 **Castielshumanheart** : I did post the first chapter early – and then I disappeared unintentionally. Sigh.

Arashi has too much holding her in Konoha and from all that she knows, Itachi went mad and killed everyone that was dear to him. Logically, she would never chase after him unless she had proof that he was innocent.

As for the Kakashi and Arashi interactions – after this chapter I'm starting to wonder if she'd sooner tear his hair out in frustration rather than offer him emotional support. xD I'm looking forward to writing how Team 7 as a whole reacts to her presence when it's more than just a passing greeting and it shouldn't be long until I get to write that content. I'm just going through the setup for it right now. As for Sakura, I do intend for Arashi to be a positive influence on her life but I won't say much about how I intend to incorporate that. Sasuke is.. difficult and there will be development there, as well.

Arashi was set up for a meteoric rise through ranks if she would have continued pushing herself as hard as she was when she was before the massacre. In a way, it's my way of showing that there were some definite and undeniable repercussions on her outlook and motivation from what happened with Itachi, even if she doesn't openly admit anything.

Her progress with healing and fuinjutsu will be shown. Those are two aspects that she hasn't slacked off in, at least! :)

Thank you for the review and I hope you continue enjoying each update!

 **Windschatten** : I'm glad that you liked the cemetery scene. It might sound strange, but I find cemeteries to be very peaceful and sometimes it feels safer to speak to the departed than it does to speak to the living. Time can add uncertainty to events and memories of people and events and I was hoping that it would translate into that scene and her reactions. I'm glad that it sort of did. :)

I actually questioned whether I should have Kakashi actually pay for their meals or not, but I figured it was a special occasion and he'd do it – even if that might be the only time without some real manipulation from those kids in order to corner him into doing it. xD

I wasn't quite sure how to have Kakashi and Arashi really treat each other and now it's just turning into what happened in this chapter. I just don't even know.. xD I used to think "what if Arashi and Kakashi were the same age and they knew each other when they were both like 12?" I now know she would try to punch him in the mouth. Now to see how they treat each other as time passes..

Sasuke is relatively observant and he has a bit of a history with Arashi, even if they're not exactly on friendly terms with each other. I do intend to show a little more of what they think of each other and how they will treat each other as they interact more in upcoming chapters.

I've always thought of the Third as being very intelligent and calculated in what he does. 'Coincidences' happen around him all the time and more often than not they were quite intentional.

I'm glad that you liked this chapter and I always love your reviews! :)

 **a Wiccan** : Kakashi that jerk, indeed. Dx But it's so fun to write. Haha

Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter! There's a bit of tension between Arashi and Kakashi and I'm hoping that it doesn't seem out of character or anything.

 **Osnapitzlivia** : Yes, I got the first chapter out and then got abducted by real life and a busy work schedule. Dx Sorry.

Kakashi knew her as a little girl, even if it was relatively brief. Her bratty, spoiled tendencies of childhood give him a plenty of ammunition to use against her in teasing if he chooses to and it's something I on't pass up. xD I'm glad you liked it.

I really hoped that the cemetery scene would translate well and show that she is still affected deeply and feels quite a bit of remorse over what happened. I know that if something like that happened in my life, I wouldn't be able to just shrug it off and I couldn't see why Arashi would move on from it without any repercussions, either. And yes, I thought of making things smoother between Sasuke and Arashi, but when it comes down to it, he wouldn't really want to have anything to do with her.

He might not be mentioned in the main character list, but he won't be forgotten. :) Arashi certainly hasn't forgotten him and she definitely still has questions concerning him and the massacre. It might take a long time for some of these things to surface, but it's not something that I'm going to abandon.

Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!


	3. Growing Concerns

**Chapter 3: Growing Concerns**

Alright, so this was a quicker update. I meant to have this chapter done and posted yesterday since it's a little shorter than the first two, but stuff came up and blah. I'd like to extend a thank you to all of the people that have continued to read, favorite, and follow this project. :) It is always greatly appreciate.

I also apologize if this chapter feels a bit like filler. It's not meant to. Dx

* * *

 **Chapter Song** : Daughter - Human

* * *

 **Chapter Summary** : Arashi feels like a stalker and tries to cope with the cover story she chose.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

Arashi's hope that Kakashi would not make things difficult was hollow.

She was reduced to feeling like she was stalking his team, instead of feeling free to approach them and strike up a conversation like she could with the other two squads. Without a doubt, the Jounin had established his dominance. She was able to still monitor Naruto, but it was far from convenient and it was not what she had envisioned.

 _Really, what was even the point in me setting this kind of cover story when he was just going to turn around and do this to me, anyway?_

Iruka had held up his end of the bargain and supplied her with copious amounts of information about the Genin she shadowed after and of the methods being used in the Academy. The reports she had offered back to him were in-depth, but she was sure to not mention that much of the information she had on Team 7 was gathered through a pair of binoculars and supplemented with the information she pumped out of Naruto when she caught him outside his apartment for a quick chat to see how everything was going for him.

 _Maybe today will be different?_

* * *

Arashi liked Team 8.

Kurenai was a friendly and empathetic woman. Even though she had not been a Jounin long and her students had not been under her care for any considerable time, the medic could tell that they were forming healthy bonds with each other.

Her squad was comprised of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba.

When she first approached them about her study, they were the most receptive. Since then, she had organized one training exercise with them and now she was going for a follow up to see if they had improved any on what they were focusing on the last time she saw them.

 _A quick round of questioning and a friendly exit. That's all I need to do and then I'll head on to Team 10._

Arashi followed their signatures until she found them on a training ground, on the outskirts of the village. She preferred training away from people and had visited this spot several times on her own. In fact, this was where Satoshi had found her before their match and Itachi had faced him until he backed down.

The memory was bittersweet.

With burning lips, she wished she could take the latent questions and remorse and let the wind sweep all of it away, just as it gathered and swept away the leaves that rushed by her in an abrupt gust. She pushed it to the side. Years of events now separated her from then and she had things she had to focus on in the present.

Kurenai watched over her students and instructed them through a sparring match. Hinata and Shino faced each other, while Kiba sat off to the side to watch. From what Arashi could tell, they had yet to begin fighting and by the timid and hesitant expression on the Hyuuga's face, she doubted the girl was in a hurry to begin.

The girl's pale eyes wavered from the Aburame and focused on the medic as she approached. She dropped from her stance and fidgeted, a stuttered greeting dying on her lips.

 _I'd expect that kind of suppressed behavior in a member of the branch house – not coming from Hiashi's daughter._

It did not surprise her, since she had seen the same behavior the previous times she had spoken with the squad. It did, however, perplex her.

Seeing Hinata's shift in attention, Kurenai and the two boys turned to see what she was regarding.

Arashi raised a hand to wave, "Good morning!"

Akamaru, Kiba's ninken, barked and bolted away from the Inuzuka.

"Akamaru! Stop that!" Kiba jumped to his feet.

"It's alright!" Arashi called back. "I'm pretty good with animals!"

In truth, she had wanted to pet the small dog since she first saw him weeks before, but she never asked if she could. The Inuzuka were particular about their canines and she did not want to come across like she did not take them seriously. They were not pets.

Akamaru circled her legs, snuffling loudly as he checked her out.

 _But this one time, I'm going to pet him._

Then, before her hand could ruffle his white scruff, the dog hiked his leg and a yellow stream of urine sprayed across her boot.

Arashi froze.

 _…really?_

She was so caught off guard that she stared as the dog finished and pranced back to his master, pride adding extra bounce to each step. The medic looked up at the Inuzuka that was scolding his ninken in hushed tones and then toward Hinata and Kurenai. The Hyuuga had her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with sympathy and surprise. The Jounin's eyebrows were knit together and her mouth was slightly open, but she recovered the fastest.

Shino watched without a sign of any reaction. He reminded her somewhat of Akio – except he had a friendlier disposition. Akio had an intimidating undertone to his movements, even when he was in a good mood. The differences in their personalities were stark and it intrigued her. Even though it was hard to tell under his coat, she noted that Shino also appeared to be somewhat thinner and frailer than her old teammate.

"Sorry about that." Kiba apologized.

He was loud and his appearance was unruly, but from what the medic could tell, he was a good kid. His feral features were twisted in embarrassment, and his dog whined from his place under Kiba's arm.

Arashi stepped out of the small puddle that collected under her foot and tried to not show how disgusted she was, "It's alright. I've had worse on me."

It was not a lie. She had seen and unfortunately worn many nasty fluids and substances during her shifts in the hospital. That fact failed to make her current situation feel any better.

 _Now I'll have to clean these or I'll smell like pee everywhere I go._

Kurenai shifted forward and the sympathetic expression dropped from her face, "Did you come to follow up with your research?"

One of many mental notes that Arashi had made the last times she spoke with this woman was that she was engaging to interact with. A few minutes of dialogue revealed an honest attitude and a sharp mind.

"Yes, I planned on checking up on everyone today."

Kurenai nodded in understanding.

"Th-there's a stream nearby," Hinata stammered. "If you want to clean your boot, first…"

"I think I will, actually."

They waited, sheepishly, until she was done. When the medic returned, she was holding a clipboard with a questionnaire that she intended to go over.

"Alright, I know last time you were all going to work on figuring out your weaknesses, improving those, and working together as a cohesive team." Arashi recapped. "I prepared some questions to ask you all, individually, and then I will talk a little with you, Kurenai-san. This shouldn't take long and then I'll be out of your hair. Is that okay?"

"Sounds good to me," the Jounin agreed.

The color of the woman's eyes interested Arashi – it was definitely not every day that she came across someone with red eyes. She had to admit that the woman's natural features, coupled with her choice in clothing and makeup, made for an attractive genjutsu specialist. She wondered briefly if Kurenai would object to a shopping trip with her sometime in the future.

 _I wonder if she incorporates herself into her illusions? Sometimes Daisuke will, but I've never thought to ask him what the advantages are to self-projection when weaving a genjutsu. Is there an advantage or is it personal style?_

She could not help but remember Itachi and Shisui, their eyes flaring brightly with the Sharingan when she thought of red eyes and illusions.

"Okay, let's go through this so I won't hold you up any longer..."

* * *

Arashi's next destination was an area within the village that was packed with restaurants. Even without sensory skills, she knew that it was the likeliest place to find Team 10 at that time.

While Kurenai reinforced and guided her team with the care that one would expect from a big sister, Asuma resorted to a different method. She realized from their initial meeting that Ino-Shika-Cho had an excellent dynamic to hold them together, except two thirds of the group lacked self-motivation. In short, Sarutobi Asuma bribed his students to make them actually try.

It was inside Yakiniku Q that she found them, gathered around a table.

As soon as she stepped inside and Asuma noticed her approach, he stood and placed an unlit cigarette between his lips.

Arashi waved, "Hello-"

He walked toward the exit and motioned for her to follow him.

"Um, okay."

Once they were outside, he lit his cigarette, took a deep draw and exhaled.

She shifted her weight between her feet and asked, "Needed a smoke break?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

Asuma was a tall man. Arashi had a hard time believing that he was Hiruzen's son when she thought of the difference in their statures. Looking beyond that, he did share certain features with the elderly kage and even some habits.

"You here to talk to Loud-Mouth, Lazy, and Glutton?"

He was also a blunt man.

She bit back a laugh, "Still calling them that, huh?"

"It's what they are."

The medic glanced inside to make sure his students were still pre-occupied and not listening, "They're yours, though."

His eyes lit up with amusement, "No doubt about that."

If the last times she had dealt with them were of any indication, she understood how they could be a handful.

"I just wanted to go over a questionnaire with them today. Won't take too long." She explained. "Then, I'll go over a few questions with you and we'll be done."

"Don't worry about rushing through it. It always takes Choji a while to eat."

 _Blunt and the son of a kage, but laid back and pretty down to earth._ She nodded, "If you want a bit longer of a break, I can take my time."

"It's whatever you want to do."

She shrugged, "I'll probably order something to eat for myself while I'm here."

It was far better than ramen.

She stepped inside and approached the Genin of Team 10 – Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji.

The girl, Ino, was the best female student in her class. She bore a striking resemblance to her father, Inoichi. Arashi was well acquainted with this girl. She bought flowers from their flower shop on a semi-regular basis. The medic had seen a broad spectrum of the girl's attitudes, which mostly comprised of confident, arrogant, intelligent and, undoubtedly bossy.

Her father had spoiled her rotten.

Still, she displayed talents and aptitudes that were commendable for a girl of her age. It was a safe assumption to make that she would follow after her father and use the Yamanaka's Clan secrets to aid and further Konoha as she matured.

Shikamaru was one of the students in Iruka's class that was described as being one of the 'dead lasts' in a report she scanned through – along with Kiba and Naruto. That surprised her. She knew who his father was and the idea that the son of Konoha's Jounin Commander would drag through the Academy was bizarre to her. There was something in his eyes that was uncannily intelligent.

Then again, he was also the laziest child she had ever met.

In Iruka's report, there were notes stating that it was common for Nara clansmen to have that personality type and that it often did not indicate that they would do poorly as shinobi. While there was stressed a measure of difficulty in getting the boy to even pick up a pencil or participate in anything, there was also a vote of confidence. The Nara Clan consistently served Konoha well.

Lastly, there was Choji. Just as his father before him, he was meant to be the brute strength that balanced out the finesse and brains of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination. He was also the reason she knew she would be able to find them in this restaurant, in particular. As difficult as it was to motivate Shikamaru, it was a simple matter to bribe Choji into action with the promise of food.

There was nothing specifically negative about him in the reports she received from Iruka. She gathered that he seemed a nice enough person.

Each of the three Clans had a unique bond with each other. Being the heirs of the Clan Heads, it only made sense that they would be placed on a team together to re-establish Ino-Shika-Cho and to reinforce the traditions between their clans.

They were her second favorite squad to visit.

Arashi placed her order and slid into a seat at the table the Genin were eating.

"Oh, good evening Arashi-san!" Ino greeted her with a wide smile.

"Good evening, Ino-san." She returned the gesture.

"Oh great, what are you going to make us do now?" Shikamaru sighed.

The young kunoichi's eyes narrowed and she hissed in a shrill voice, "Shut up and stop being rude, Shikamaru!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he mumbled and slouched over his food, like the effort of being there was more than he signed up for.

Choji continued eating without acknowledging Arash's presence.

"Okay," Arashi cleared her throat. "I just wanted to go over some questions with you guys."

"Sure thing." Ino nodded. "We've been working really hard with Asuma-Sensei to perfect our-"

"What a drag. Questions?" Shikamaru interrupted her. "I was hoping we left all of those troublesome tests behind us in the Academy-"

"As, I was saying," Ino raised her voice over him, "We've been working with Asuma-Sensei to perfect our teamwork and coordination as Ino-Shika-Cho."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Do you have to be such a brat?"

The girl looked to be a few comments away from a tantrum.

Choji finished the last of his meal and looked around, "When are they gonna bring out more food?"

Arashi could see why Asuma needed a smoke break.

* * *

Finally, Arashi closed in on Team 7.

She shouldered a pack that contained a snack for that evening and a pair of binoculars. Whereas she had attended a mission, organized a training exercise, and did a follow-up with the other two teams, she had yet to formally do anything with Kakashi's squad. She wished she could blame it on something other than the stubbornness of the strange Jounin, but there was little reason for him to haze her in this manner. She gave him reports on Naruto's seal once a week and if he was feeling magnanimous that day, he would excuse himself and leave. Sometimes he simply vanished in a poof of smoke that left her coughing.

Instead of developing a healthy work relationship, she was left to hide on a roof with a pair of binoculars to stalk them for enough information to fill in a report for Iruka.

 _If I had known that he was going to be this way, I never would have set this up. Does he think I like visiting a bunch of rookies and filling out reports about them? Does he think I'd rather be doing a study that isn't really needed? I have ten other things I'd rather be doing right now._

Despite no longer taking missions outside of the village, Arashi was spending less time pursuing her own research and studies. The medical field required a constant upkeep on procedures and techniques, while her interest in fuinjutsu was often just as complex.

The kunoichi huffed in annoyance and grabbed a scroll to begin preparing a report about Team 7.

She lied about doing a training exercise with them and now she had to answer her own questionnaire through observation. If Kakashi would have been more willing to work with her, then she would have worked with them on forming more cohesive bonds in their group and addressing their weaknesses. If they had been through that, she would have let them know to work on it so that when she visited them the next week, they would have better progress to show – just as she had with Team 8 and Team 10.

 _Whatever. I'm sure he's doing his job and working with them, anyway. That's how every Sensei is. They push bonds, they push loyalty, and fresh Genin are usually more than willing to bend to those teachings. That's just how it is._

She was not sure why Kakashi was pushing her away in this manner. He had never been thrilled to see her when she was a child, but he had also looked after her to an extent – which was probably in order to help Kushina. The only reason she met him before Hiruzen gave her this mission was because of the fiery redhead and her husband, Minato.

 _Is that one of the reasons he doesn't want to have much to do with me? Do I remind him of what happened to his Sensei and his Sensei's wife?_

She chewed on her lip.

 _I guess that would be kinda like how I feel about Sasuke. Every time I look at him, I think of his brother._

Arashi shook her head.

 _Yeah, but I don't even know if Kakashi's that kind of person. Some people aren't sentimental and caught up on things as easily as I am. For all I know, he just doesn't want me messing with his squad and he'd rather me do my mission and leave them alone as much as possible._

With one more resentful look toward the list of questions she had beside her, she lifted the binoculars to her eyes and searched for her targets.

Team 7 was currently on a mission.

From what she could gather, they were cleaning the local playground and surrounding streets.

 _Yup. Typical beginner mission right there._

Naruto rushed ahead, trying to collect as much trash as he could. His eyes flashed with determination to do as well as he could. Sadly, his rush made the task sloppy. Arashi frowned. He was too eager to show that he was capable – more capable than a certain Uchiha.

Sasuke gathered trash with an utterly disinterested expression on his face, but he managed to keep pace with Naruto while making it appear effortless. The medic snorted to herself. It was the same dynamic she had seen while they were in the Academy. The ease in which Sasuke was able to excel while Naruto struggled with all of his might but fell behind reminded her of how Itachi out-performed all of his classmates.

 _Except Sasuke's not like his brother. Itachi was in a completely different league._

The Uchiha glanced over his shoulder to check Naruto's progress and subtly picked up his pace.

 _Wait._ Arashi arched an eyebrow. _What was that?_

After a few moments, Naruto looked over to check Sasuke's progress and forced himself to work faster, but even sloppier than before.

 _So, Sasuke doesn't only tease Naruto. He's totally in on their rivalry._

The notes that Iruka included about Sasuke and Naruto mentioned their rivalry as being one-sided, with the Uchiha disinterested in the affair.

 _But that's not quite true._

Arashi turned her attention to the third member of the team, Sakura.

The girl kept herself busy, but watched Sasuke and to a lesser extent, Naruto. She continuously looked at their progress and then compared it to her own. When she thought no one else was paying attention to her, her forehead creased in what Arashi assumed was frustration.

 _So, either she's comparing herself to them or she's frustrated for some other reason._

Lastly, Arashi checked to see where their Sensei was during all of this.

 _Oh._

Kakashi was sitting on a bench, reading his smut of choice.

 _Alright. I'm just going to accept that he'll read that kind of stuff in front of kids while keeping a completely straight face. Erm, at least I think it's straight. I mean, no one can really tell since he wears a mask all the time. What's up with that anyway?_

She frowned.

Unlike the other Sensei, he kept himself at an undeniable distance from his students. Asuma might have wanted to smoke a cigarette in peace, but he was right back with his students once he was finished. From what Arashi had seen, Kakashi maintained a sense of detachment from his Genin and there had been no improvement from the first day she had watched them to now.

Naruto was still sloppy and overflowing with energy that needed to be directed with a heavy but gentle hand – which Kakashi was not doing.

Sakura spent more time watching Sasuke than she did actually working, which meant she needed direction – which Kakashi was not offering.

Sasuke did well enough, but she had a hunch that he needed an attitude adjustment and a positive role model to help him connect with other people since the loss of his family – but Kakashi was busy reading a book, instead.

 _A few weeks in and they're basically the same. Is this just how that man is? Distant?_

Her frown deepened.

 _I mean, he practically refuses to have anything to do with me and maybe it is because I bring up old memories or whatever, but he doesn't seem to want to bond with his Genin, either._

Kurenai was actively seeking to help her students, just as Asuma was trying to find ways to motivate his students to achieve as much as they could. They were what she would expect of a Sensei and she was sure their students would have an unbreakable bond once they were done with them.

 _But Team 7? I'm not so sure._

With a sigh, Arashi began to answer the questionnaire. She wanted to be brutally honest, but she found herself trying to find good ways to describe her observations. Instead of neglectful, she used 'pushes self-reliance within their teamwork'.

He was a strange man and she felt like she knew him no better after all of her observations than she did outside the ramen stand.

 _Intelligent, organized, keeps a clean home, minimalist, well read, very hard to read, extremely distant, and… he might have some control issues, if how difficult he's been about letting me do anything with his group is of any indication._

She placed the binoculars down and dug through her pack for the food she brought along.

Her brother's signature entered her range.

 _Wait a second, shouldn't he be in class?_

She blinked when she realized it was later in the evening than she first thought.

 _I guess he just got out or something, but he should be going home or staying with an instructor to train a little more or something._

Their home was in the opposite direction.

She swallowed a bite of her food and packed the rest away. Curiosity pricked at her thoughts.

 _What is he doing? Is he looking for me or someone else?_

His pace was not rushed.

 _I'm assuming it's not an emergency._

With a sigh, she stood and went over to the side of the building so that she could be seen from the street. After a few minutes, the boy appeared below her.

"What are you doing?" She called down to him.

He shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up at her, "Just thought I'd see what you were doing this evening."

"Stuff."

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Sensei mentioned a new study. I thought maybe I could help?"

"There's not much more for me to do today, honestly. You could just go practice kenjutsu, if you wanted to."

The boy's face contorted into a frown and he shook his head.

 _Oh. Okay._

Kazika looked around until he saw a safe path for him to jump up to her position. He jumped toward the building beside her and then bounded off the side to his destination.

Arashi realized that when she was his age, she knew how to focus her chakra to her feet and walk up the side of a building – something her father had shown her.

Kazika grinned at her, toothily, "I thought I'd just hang out with you and then maybe we could get some training in?"

It was rare that she trained with him. Typically, it was because she kept herself so busy that she never had the time to do so. The few times that she had, she felt awkward. Something about a child half her height coming at her with a tanto made her uncomfortable.

"Ah, after I finish up with these observations, I have to finish writing a report and make sure it's ready to hand in to the Academy tomorrow."

Kazika looked at her like he was fully aware that she was trying to dodge him, "So, observations?"

"Yeah."

His eyes fell on the binoculars beside her pack, "You're watching them like that?"

"Um," she adjusted her scarf. "Yeah."

"If you don't feel like watching them and you need a break, I can watch them for you."

 _Geez, he's determined to do something with me this evening._ She relented, "Alright. Watch them and tell me what they're up to."

His face lit up and he bounded across the roof to snatch the binoculars up.

"Oh," he hesitated, "so, you're watching Naruto."

"Right now, yes. Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke."

"Mm."

Arashi could not pinpoint exactly when, but her little brother had formed a dislike for the Uzumaki. Whether it was because of the general consensus about Naruto or if it was because Kazika was jealous of the time she put into checking up on him, she was uncertain.

"Do all beginning missions suck this much?" Kazika mumbled.

"Pretty much."

"That blows."

"You don't even know, yet. Wait until that's all you can do for a month or two. Maybe more, depending on your Sensei."

Kazika went quiet and Arashi began working on the report again. As annoying as her current situation was, she did not want to say anything negative about Kakashi's methods. Especially if he managed to see those reports after she turned them over. The last thing she needed was for him to have a real reason to dislike her and give her a hard time.

Perhaps the training he did outside of missions was much more impactful than she realized. D Ranked missions were hardly something to get worked up over.

"That Jounin's just sitting over there reading." He muttered. "Must be a pretty interesting book."

"Erm, yeah, I guess so."

Arashi frowned. She looked forward to seeing where Team 7 would be in a few months. From what she could tell, they were willing and ready to be trained. With such a highly esteemed Jounin as their Sensei, she hoped they would each have a bright future.

"What was your Sensei like?"

She snorted, "Strict, very involved in our training, not very talkative but got his point across. He was an excellent Sensei."

Kazika put the binoculars down and looked over at his sister, "What was his name?"

"Morino Ibiki."

"I wonder what my Sensei will be like…"

Arashi shrugged and continued writing. Her brother was a talkative boy.

"Why are you frowning?"

"Just thinking about aptitudes and trying to figure out how I'm going to word this stuff."

"Theirs?"

"Yeah. Sasuke was the top of their class, Sakura's very smart and would possibly be suitable for genjutsu, and Naruto's determined enough to not let his shortcomings define him."

"Oh." The boy thought for a moment. "What about mine?"

Arashi paused and regarded him. His expression was guarded, but she could see the curiosity shining in his eyes.

"Well," she ruffled his hair, "If you'd let Dad help you, then you'd be surprised at the things you could already pull off!"

Kazika pulled away from her and looked away, thoughtfully, "Yeah, but he's always busy and it makes Mom sad. I'd feel bad if I made him work even harder and took even more time from Mom."

Arashi blinked, "You know, he'd love it and Mom would understand. You're not always going to be with them."

"You still live with them." He retorted.

Her eyes narrowed at him, "Don't you sass me."

At the age of eighteen, Arashi was still comfortably living with her parents. She had yet to find a reason to move out, since she and her parents got along very well. In fact, any comment she had made in the past about finding an apartment made her father worry and her mother fuss about how fast her daughter had grown up.

It was becoming more and more apparent that they intended to keep her until she met "Mr. Right". Naomi was beginning to mention grandchildren. Arashi was convinced she was going to die single and alone, instead.

Kazika stuck his tongue out at her.

"I'll hide your tanto again."

If looks could kill, she would have died twice.

* * *

They continued working together and bantering until Team 7 disbanded for the evening. Kazika left for home and Arashi gathered all of her things together with the promise that she would be right behind him after she handled something else.

She was tired of knowing nothing about Hatake Kakashi.

 _He was in ANBU for what? Ten years? That means, Ibiki-Sensei has to know at least a little about him._ She chewed on her lips. _If I could manage to get a hold of his file and really get a good look into what makes him tick, I'd be ecstatic._

Arashi entered the Intelligence Division and was escorted to Ibiki's office.

It was not an uncommon sight to see the kunoichi waiting to have a conversation with her Sensei. Protocol dictated that she was to be monitored, but most of the agents were familiar enough with her that they left her alone once she was seated.

 _Most people don't remain in Black Ops for that long. Most people get themselves killed or maimed if they don't retire first._

As soon as the door opened and Ibiki entered, he announced, "I've already eaten."

Arashi huffed, "I don't only come here to force feed you, y'know."

The man grunted and sat down behind his desk.

Nine times out of ten, the kunoichi _did_ go there just to make sure he had eaten a decent meal. She always made sure she had another reason to support her visit, but her ulterior motive was more often than not to check on the wellbeing of her Sensei. She knew he worked long hours and that the kind of work he did was not pleasant.

"Well," he crossed his arms and looked her over. "What is it?"

"What can you tell me of Hatake Kakashi?"

"Why?"

She shifted in her seat, uncomfortably. Most people would agree that Arashi was a nosy person. If she was interested in something or someone, then she would research and dig for as much information as she could get. The reason she was that way was because of the man that sat across from her.

"Well, I'm doing a study on the rookie Genin this year. Everything's going fine with two of the Sensei, but Kakashi is giving me a hard time. He's not complying, being difficult, and I honestly feel like he's not taking me seriously. I don't like being treated like this. Usually I can read a person and figure out how to deal with them, but this guy isn't an easy case, y'know? I thought maybe you could share a little information with me."

"We attended the Academy around the same time." Ibiki replied. "When he first became a Genin, he was strict about following rules and often clashed with teammates on missions."

"It doesn't surprise me that he had issues with other people," she mumbled.

"Beyond that, he was a good ANBU captain. Went into retirement after the Uchiha Incident."

Even years after the event, the Incident still felt like a bad dream to her.

"What do you know of him, personally?"

Ibiki shrugged, "Why don't you look into finding his file under Standard Forces?"

"Well, I will, but I thought since so much of his career was spent with ANBU, that talking to you would be a better lead." She admitted. "I mean, if you could slip me his ANBU file…"

Ibiki laughed – in her face.

She sighed. The information she wanted was prohibited from her and she knew it. He was not the type to spoil anyone, not even his students. Even if he could have slipped her the information without anyone knowing, that was not the kind of person he was.

"It was worth a shot, y'know."

He stood, "I have work to do."

"Thanks for talking to me, Sensei."

"I'll give you some advice. Don't let him get to you or figure out how you tick. He's smart and he's been through a lot. I worked hard on thickening your skin. This is no time to forget that – even if all of this is about a petty research project."

Her lips thinned into a line. She wished she was given permission to share her mission with a few people. If he knew what her real situation was, then he might have been more willing to give her information.

"Yes, Sensei."

Nonetheless, his advice was true. She could not let him get to her. She had to do what was necessary.

Arashi was now determined to figure Hatake Kakashi out. When she next handed in a report, she would track him and hound him until he gave in, if she had to. One way or another, they needed to see eye to eye, even if she felt like she needed to be respectful to him because she was of a lower rank. Her purpose was not to be pushy, it was not to remind him of unpleasant memories, and it was not to undermine his personal capabilities.

* * *

And that's it for chapter 3. There was no direct interaction between Kakashi and Arashi, but there will be some in the next chapter. If anyone has any suggestions, criticisms, opinions, etc. – please feel free to share them in a review. I love all forms of feedback and I'd like to know what you all think of the direction part 3 is taking so far.

* * *

 **Windschatten** : I am so, so, so happy that you enjoyed their interaction! I was very hesitant about it and I wasn't sure if I was getting Kakashi's character right. I have to admit that the kind of jerk Kakashi can be is definitely the kind that I like. xD haha

Kakashi is a character with a lot of layers and a lot of depth. I do intend to delve into why he's being difficult to such an extent, but it's true that Arashi can do her mission without being invasive. She could have chosen to stay in the shadows and not shown herself to Naruto. Ultimately, while he is being difficult, he's not actually making it impossible for her to do her mission. He just has his reasons for wanting to keep her at a distance. :)

I'm glad that you enjoy the bits and pieces that I add in concerning the other people in Arashi's life and the bonds that are connected to each of them. It's a lot to keep up with, sometimes, and I always worry that I'm boring the readers with it. Still, I choose to include those details because I hope that it will add a bit of life and a little more depth to the story.

I intended to include brief scenes with Kurenai and Asuma before you even mentioned this and that's what I did. :) They are kinda short, but I wanted to give a glimpse into their teams and show Arashi's observations about each of them in order to highlight some of the differences. I really do have a lot of characters to juggle, but I'm determined to touch bases. Chapter 4 should feature Daisuke and Akio to sort of show what they've been up to and how they're doing. xD and I' glad you find them adorable.

Thank you so much for the review and I hope you like this chapter. It's not quite as long as the two before, but I didn't see much point in stretching it out. The next one will likely be longer. haha


	4. An Olive Branch Extends

**Chapter 4 – An Olive Branch Extends**

* * *

I feel that I need to extend an apology to all of my readers for my prolonged hiatus. I started a new job, went through a divorce, and now I'm enthralled in searching for a house to purchase and all of those things have taken up a majority of my time. I never intended to abandon this project and I'm glad to be updating again.

* * *

 **Summary** : _Arashi extends an olive branch._

* * *

"I feel like a Genin again," Arashi complained. "Except, I feel like Jounin took me more seriously back then."

Daisuke sniffed. "You're such a drama queen, Shi-Shi-chan."

She glared at him over a cup of tea. They were currently sitting on the small balcony attached to his apartment. Despite the differences in their roles – Daisuke was now in the Torture and Interrogation squad with Ibiki while she spent most of her time either in a hospital or a library – they made a point to meet up to catch up over a drink. It was at those times that the kunoichi was forced to acknowledge that she had fallen behind.

"How's that?"

"Why do you even need to do some stupid project for studying Genin teams? Our village has been just fine with the set up it's had so far. It just seems sort of overbearing – which is totally you, by the way – but I can see why Jounin don't want you sniffing around so much. Let them develop their teams without that sort of intrusion."

Arashi sighed.

"I mean," he continued. "Imagine how Ibiki would have reacted. He would've thought someone, somewhere thought he was unfit to teach us. You've seen his temperament, right?"

A shudder ran down her spine, "Well, duh."

"You realize Kakashi's considered a genius, right?"

"You don't have to talk to me like I'm a child. I'm well aware."

"Well, then can't you see why he might not want you trailing after him? It could be anything from an issue of pride, or trying to honor the traditions of our village, or maybe he just thinks you're annoying. Personally, I think any of those are viable."

"Probably a little of all three." She frowned. "It hasn't been long since he's been out of ANBU, has it?"

"It's not like a keep up with ANBU's roster, but I guess not. I think he left a little before I joined."

"That makes sense. I didn't start sensing him in the village as much as he is now until not long before he became a sensei."

"Wait. What? Do you stalk half the village or something?"

She gave him a scandalized look, "No. I knew him when I was little, so it's hard not to notice him around."

He rolled his eyes. "A drama queen and a stalker. Did your dad have to fix him up when he got hurt or something?"

"Uh, he was hired to look after someone that acted as a babysitter for me when I was a child."

Daisuke choked on his tea and she watched him struggle to regain his composure. "So, you mean to say, he was your babysitter in a roundabout way?"

Her mortified expression was all he needed to see to know the answer.

"Holy shit, Shi-Shi-can – this is gold. No reason he doesn't take you seriously!"

She grimaced and stood up. "I'm going to go use your bathroom. Don't choke while I'm gone."

His laughter followed her into the apartment as she tried to drown it out. Her skin and pride burned with embarrassment, but she found her nerves soothed as she crossed through the small living room area of his apartment. The walls were covered in artwork that Daisuke had created and imbued with his chakra and genjutsu. Every time she entered that area, she would lose track of her thoughts and a feeling of peace would wash through her.

While she was sure that the pieces never changed, she could not remember any of them looking the same during her visits. She was also convinced that the scenes depicted were different, depending on the person that viewed them – just as his genjutsu had always been, using art as a way to use a person's perceptions against them.

She blinked and pulled her attention back. Her trip to the bathroom was just for her to catch her breath before heading back out to her old teammate. Since childhood, she had always experienced a disproportionate amount of frustration with him. Their personalities clashed and even with time, the improvements had been minimal. However, she knew if she gave in and told him off, it would equate to roughly the same thing as losing a game.

 _This sucks._

She picked at her face in the mirror.

 _He's a member of ANBU and has his own apartment. I still live with my parents and I'm stressing over stupid stuff._

For a moment, she wondered why she let herself become as lax as she was now.

 _Alright, enough of that depressive crap. It's not healthy._

When she returned to Daisuke – out on the balcony, as always, since all visitors struggled to keep a conversation going while under the effect of his artwork inside – she found him composed and waiting for her.

"So, I was thinking that maybe you're just overthinking everything, all teasing aside." He shrugged. "I mean, what are you really missing out on that you can't watch from a distance?"

"Do you know how many surveys and reports I've had to fill out for Team 7 that the other teams actually help me with?"

The fact that if she had come up with a better cover story, she would have very little paperwork to do was something that irked her on an almost daily basis.

"I mean, have you talked to him? Have you offered to help his team with a training session that would help them grow or do you just want to watch them like a mouth breather?"

"Talking to him isn't exactly easy."

Daisuke gave her a flippant look. "Says the girl that was friends with Itachi."

Her lips thinned into a line and she stared into her tea.

The despondence in her eyes was enough to chastise him into an apology, "Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a sensitive subject like that."

"No. You're right. He wasn't the talkative type and I was able to talk to him about everything. Until he killed his family and ran, anyway."

The tension was thick in the air and he squirmed in his seat.

"I don't really have an excuse, do I?" She laughed. "I'm just overthinking things. I always do, you know? It's like if I don't use someone as a sounding board, I get overwhelmed and I can't think straight."

"Still," he frowned.

"It's been years, Daisuke. I'm fine and there's no point in people having to feel like they have to watch what they say around me." She waved it off. "I'd rather focus on the task at hand, anyway."

"Right." He nodded, forcing the uncomfortable expression from his face. "I think you just need to talk to him."

"Yeah, but what from there?"

"Geez, if you're worried about him liking you, that's a whole other thing."

She stared at him, sheepishly.

"You've got to be kidding me. It doesn't matter if the people you work with on missions like you or not – you just have to work well together. _Our_ team managed to survive and we were at each other's throats for years."

"Look, I don't want a repeat of that."

"That's," he paused. "Understandable. How did Ibiki not strangle us?"

"As a sadist, I think he just enjoyed us torturing each other."

He snorted, "Of course. He probably did. You know Akio was his favorite."

"I don't think there was ever any question about it. How's he doing, anyway?"

"Much more intense stuff than we're doing, that's for sure." Daisuke replied with a shrug. "I don't envy him."

"Agreed. Although, maybe I should start taking more intensive missions out in the field?"

"You're a medical ninja. You could just decide that you're going to be on the medical squad and work in the hospital for the rest of your life, and I doubt there'd be many complaints."

"Obviously, but not everyone makes it back to the hospital in time for treatment."

They lapsed into silence and she watched him work on a sketch. Feelings of inadequacy teased at her thoughts and she wondered if their Sensei considered her a failure. She knew she could perform better, go on more missions, and make her name better known. A part of her felt that it was her lack of performance that fed into other shinobi not taking her as seriously as she felt they once did – or, perhaps she was a child and thought more highly of herself than she needed to at that time. She knew she was guilty of that through most of her developmental years.

As if a stray thought crossed his mind, Daisuke grinned and commented, "You know, Shi-Shi-chan, if you could cook like your mother, I'd say just feed him and you'd be fine."

"What?"

"Men like food."

She chose to not answer.

"Besides, you need to start looking for someone or your mother will never have grandchildren. That woman deserves everything she wants."

Arashi rubbed at her temples, "Stop nagging me for my mother, please. I hear it enough there. I don't need it here, too."

Daisuke innocently went back to sketching like the exchange had never happened.

She made a mental note to have a talk with her mother about not using her friends in manipulation attempts. However, that would have to come later.

* * *

Determination was not something that Arashi struggled with. Anyone that knew her recognized that she was stubborn and that once she set her mind on something, she would see it through. It had, effectively, both made her parents proud and exacerbated them through the years, but it served as a tool that kept her thriving through adversity. She had been in worse situations than trying to make nice with someone that seemingly wanted to have as little to do with her as possible.

 _Looks like they're finally splitting up for the day._

The binoculars held up to her face had become an all too familiar sensation over the past weeks, but she hoped that soon, the secrecy would no longer be as necessary. In her free hand was a scroll with an updated report. Just as she had promised herself, she intended to breach the aloof, stand offish demeanor that Kakashi kept her at a distance with. Hiding in bushes and behind buildings had a tendency to become tedious after a while and the frustration that came from it helped her to be bold.

 _If the other squads can be compliant, why can't the one I actually need to work with be more considerate?_

Instead of heading off toward his apartment, Kakashi lifted his book to his nose and strolled down the street – in her direction. Behind him, his Genin went their separate ways. Arashi lowered the binoculars and tucked them away. A sigh slipped through her lips as she leaned against the building she was hiding behind and waited. He knew she was there.

After several moments, the Jounin leaned over and peered around the corner of the building at her. "Hello there."

He extended the hand that was not holding his smut and waited for her to relinquish the report. Every time that she had done that, previously, he had poofed away to go about his own business.

"Before I give you the report, I'd like to speak with you."

"Oh?" He lowered the book, his eye taking on a serious glint. "Has something changed?"

"Ah, no. The report is basically the same as always, which is good, I guess."

The serious glint faded. "Well, what did you want to talk about?"

"Uh," she felt childish at that moment – childish for worrying about whether he liked her or not, childish for letting his demeanor throw her nerve as violently as it did – but she pressed on. "We're going to be working with each other for a long time. Unfortunately, I probably won't get to work behind the scenes forever with Naruto. That seal is going to weaken and, well, you've seen the kid. He won't know how to handle or contain it like his mother did."

The outline of his mouth twisted into a frown and he sighed, "He's not the brightest."

"I know that our roles are different and that while neither of us answer solely to the other, I want you to know that I respect and trust you as on this mission. It's my hope that you will not have difficulties viewing me as a capable kunoichi due to knowing me as a child and that we can develop a sound work relationship, if not a friendship of sorts. Just, please, don't continue to leave me out and keep me at such a distance."

"I didn't realize missing out on these missions had gotten to you so badly." He scratched at his chin, perplexed. "They're basically house chores and fetching lost pets. If anything, I thought you'd appreciate being able to continue your normal routines."

Daisuke's warning reverberated through her as it began to dawn on her that the Jounin's words were genuine.

"It's the damn surveys." She admitted. "I make the other squads fill them out every week. I've been doing it for you guys and it really sucks. I'd rather scrub my teeth with a brick than do anymore self-imposed paperwork."

Her response made his eye widen before closing in a smile as he chuckled. It took a moment for her to realize that she had done it – the ice had been broken. The change, while subtle, was as clear as day to her. His weight shifted as his stance relaxed. She recognized it as one that he would sometimes take as he bantered with his students.

"At least I have you laughing at me now. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but, it's something. Anyway, I have a couple questions."

"Oh? Alright."

"These reports – just let me know if you want me to include anything specific in them. I'm already helping Iruka with research on teaching methods because I apparently wanted to torture myself with additional work."

"You're very detailed, already." He leaned in and added in a slightly quieter tone. "I appreciate that you try to exercise your vocabulary when you describe the same status each week, but you can honestly shorten it. If there's no changes, you don't have to, erm, write an essay on it."

Arashi looked away and played with the hem of her scarf, "Ah, yeah. I get a little ranty, I guess. Sorry."

He straightened to his full height and returned his attention to his book. "You had another question?"

"Care to go get something to eat with me? Something that's not ramen and I'll pay."

Immediately, she could feel his stance stiffen. Standing as close as she was to him allowed her to gauge the flow of his chakra and something about it made her skin tingle. It probably did not help that the words tumbled from her mouth, nervous and unsure. It felt like an overstep of boundaries.

"Free food." Arashi pressed. "I'm hungry and I'm sure you are after everything you've been up to. Besides, I'd like to talk to you about maybe coming up with a training session that I could help with."

She could almost see the conflict going on in his head as he tried to think of an excuse to get out of it. His signature sparked and cracked – ultimately, he appeared to find the idea of tagging along less of a hassle than lying his way out of it.

He acquiesced with a shrug. "What did you have in mind?"

"Like I said, anything that isn't ramen."

* * *

The walk through Konoha was not as awkward as she thought it would be. He kept his nose buried in his book, but it helped her to not feel as embarrassed as she might have, otherwise. Even if he had wanted to banter with her while on their way to a restaurant, she would have had no idea what to say. Her actual mission was something she could not talk about, as it was meant to be kept a secret and she hated her self-imposed study. Beyond that, she knew none of his interests or hobbies. The only thing she had seen him read a trashy book that not even her mother took seriously.

Naomi described the content as "trashy", "tacky", and was adamant that it set unrealistic tones – with the added comment that she was aware that she reads low caliber books. Anything that her mother deemed that awful was something that the kunoichi never intended on reading. It made her question what about it that the Jounin liked.

 _Everyone has their dirty pleasures. Who am I to judge?_

As much as she wanted to focus on going over training plans, she struggled to keep her thoughts organized. This was the first time he had been personable with her – as personable as one could consider a few words and a hesitant agreement for food – and she was unsure if he was feeling magnanimous that day or if Daisuke was right. If all she needed to do was stop assuming and talk to him like an adult, she was going to punch herself in the face.

Then it dawned on her – if they ate together, she would get to see what was under his mask. Curiosity made her peer over at him, but he paid no attention to it. When she was young, she assumed he was ugly and that was the reason he kept his face hidden. Now that she was older, she doubted that was the case. The sharp lines that she could make out beneath his mask led her to believe he had a nice nose and a good jawline. Her hunch was that he was simply a secretive person. Also, possibly suffered from some form of mental or emotional trauma at some point that led him to such a habit.

 _I can deal with quiet and secretive._

The restaurant he led her to was a teishoku style café. It had a small seating area inside the building that was mostly full. The scents that permeated the area reminded her of some of the things she ate at home. With a quick glance around, they located a free seat.

Areashi scanned over the menu and noted that the items were affordable and relatively healthy. As they looked over everything, not a word was exchanged. By the time a waitress came to collect their orders, she let out a sigh of relief.

"I'll have a, ahh, tonkatsu, with just standard stuff – rice, miso soup, and we'll just go with a salad."

"What would you like to drink?"

"Water, I guess."

The waitress turned her attention to Kakashi.

"Yakizakana."

"With rice and miso soup? What would you like as a side?"

"Salad. I'll have water with it, as well."

The waitress left to give the order to the kitchen.

Kakashi closed his book and placed it on the table. There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds before Arashi pulled out the report and pushed to over to him.

"You had ideas for training?"

"A few. Nothing solid. They're just new Genin and it looks like their main struggles are basic ones each team deals with. What is your approach with them? Many squads are modeled after their sensei – tracking, infiltration, or combat centered, usually."

He leaned his head back and flicked his hitai-ate a few times, "They don't particularly have a predisposition to tracking or infiltration. However, I intend to help them be well rounded. To do that, though, they need to understand and improve on their teamwork."

"That's going to be a challenge, but it should come with time. I mean, Ibiki got my squad cooperating. We still couldn't stand each other for years, but we worked well together."

Kakashi hummed to indicate he was listening, while he looked over her report. After he criticized the length, she felt self-conscious watching him read it.

"Anyway, how is Naruto doing? Any growth?"

"A little. He's still… acclimating to not trying to do everything himself."

She knew he was trying to not be critical of the young Uzumaki.

"Of course," She grinned. "Who does he remind you of? His mother or his father?"

"His mother," he replied, quickly. "He lacks any of the talent his father had."

"Fair enough. Not going to argue with that."

The waitress returned what some food and drinks. Just from what he had ordered, she determined he was economical and practical with his choice of purchases. Paired with his tiny and likely cheap apartment, she assumed he was frugal with his money.

"I'm always going to feel guilty that I never had it in me to take care of Naruto and help fill that void in his life. I tried for a while and my little brother became resentful. I have a habit of putting too much on my plate."

"You have a brother now?"

"Yes. His name's Kazika. It took my parents a long time, but they managed to have a biological child."

The Jounin's voice settled into a teasing tone, "But did Ookami ever figure out that you're not really his daughter?"

Arashi's face burned and she stared down at her food. "Oh. You remember that."

He chuckled and she picked at her food, being sure to not look at him.

"I was an odd child and I was very pushy. Sorry about that. My parents really believed in letting kids be themselves and that's probably why I had so few friends, growing up."

"You weren't that bad. Spoiled, but it was," he paused for a moment, thinking back. "It was refreshing at the time. I had never seen a kid not affected by war."

She chewed on her lip, wondering if he was just trying to spare her feelings. "Thanks for the honesty. I never thought we'd have conversations like this. I guess I felt like I managed to make you hate me."

His signature fluctuated with her statement. She was reminded of when it was colder and less approachable.

"No." His tone was flat, almost hesitant.

"Yeah, I guess not." His reaction made her want to direct the conversation away from negativity. "You were quick to help me when I was attached during the final exam during my Chuunin Exam. Thank you for that – I never had a chance to thank you before now."

He shrugged. "You did well. I figured you'd make a good kunoichi after I got to break up one of your fights, but I didn't expect that."

The memory of him cleaning her scrapes ran through her head. She was more concerned about getting in trouble with her parents than anything at that point. The difference in her worldview then, compared to her mental state before she became a Chuunin stood in a stark contrast.

"I didn't expect that from myself, either." She shook her head. "Thinking back on when I was little makes me squirm – I mean, do you remember how much lotion I gave you? What's a boy supposed to do with all of that?"

A tense silence returned before he responded, "Ohh, I don't know. What any other fourteen year old boy would use it for, I'd imagine."

"Eww."

Arashi met his eye and they stared at each other, neither approving of where the conversation had gone.

Kakashi cleared his throat and promptly changed the subject, "Anyway, I'll let my squad know that you'll be tagging along for some missions soon. I'll let you know when to meet us for a joint exercise, so you don't have to worry."

"Sounds good."

With that, he poofed away and made his escape. Arashi almost yelled about uneaten food when she realized he had scarfed most of it down without her noticing.

She rubbed her temples and mumbled, "Dammit. I can't do anything right, anymore."

The kunoichi was convinced that Daisuke was right – she just needed to communicate clearly to resolved the issue and not so easily let herself overthink the situation. She was also convinced that she managed to make everything worse. Still disgusted with herself, she continued eating the food she had to pay for, experiencing a combination of relief and annoyance that she had to do it alone.

 _Well, at least no one I know got to see that crash and burn."_

* * *

There we go. I'm sorry about how long it took to update, but I'll do my best to update once a week! Thank you to everyone that is still reading after all this time and I hope you enjoyed it! Anyone that cares to leave a review, please let me know what you think of the interactions in this chapter – please be sure to leave suggestions or criticisms, as I appreciate all feedback!

* * *

 **osnapitzlivia** : Thank you! I've tried to make Arashi an analytical character, since she's in more of a support role. Also, good eye! I have a tendency to reference previous chapters, so kudos! I can't help but bring Ibiki back here and there – love the man.

 **Guest** : It's safe to assume that some of the Sensei may know what happened to Arashi, along with some of the proctors. Beyond that, it's something that they did not feel at ease talking about. Kakashi does not know everything that happened to her, but may eventually.

 **Harmiona** : Thank you! I'm glad you've enjoyed the series and I apologize that it's been so long since I've updated. This is the part that I intend to work on her maturity – she's at an awkward point of living a relatively sheltered life for a shinobi, since she took a step back from active, dangerous missions after the massacre. Now she gets to figure more aspects of herself out.

 **Ks** : I'm glad that you enjoyed it that much! I don't know if I could've read it all in a weekend. I do hope that you'll continue to read, despite my long hiatus.

 **KyraReid** : I am so happy I decided to use Ibiki as her sensei and I'm glad that you seem to have liked his portrayal in my fanfiction.

 **Windschatten** : As always, I adore all of your reviews. They are always in depth and flattering and I've appreciated your continued interest in the fanfiction and the messages that you send to check on me. Genuinely – thank you.

I've tried, actively, to keep Arashi human. She has seasons of success and seasons of failures. Just because she is the main focus of my fanfiction does not mean she gets a free pass and I'm glad that it's appreciated it.

As for Kakashi, I want to have an honest perspective of him. She has no reason to idolize him. As an analytical character, she should see his faults and notice the issues that exist in his squad.

 **Sparksofrandomness** : haha thank you for the review. This chapter had a bit more interaction between the two, but they're definitely still figuring each other out. Also, I hope you appreciate the lotion portion of their conversation.

 **FallingSnow12** : Romance has been in the works for a long time. I'm just an avid fan of slow burns.

 **Guest** : Here's an update and I do apologize for the wait!

 **Chibi-no-baka** : Kakashi can be a dick and I don't want to give Arashi a free pass – even if a lot of it is just her overcomplicating the situation. I'm glad that you've enjoyed the series so far!

 **Aerica8** : Thank you! I've appreciated and I apologize that it's been so long! I don't intend to abandon it again for so long!

 **Wonderland-Chic** : I'm glad that you've enjoyed it up to this point and I apologize for my hiatus! Kakashi is a complicated character and from looking over the content, he has a tendency to keep people at a distance or push the away, even if it's unintentional, despite being a very loyal person. More of it will unfold and explain itself with time, though.


	5. A Forgotten Message

**Chapter 5**

 **A Forgotten Message**

* * *

I was hoping to get this out sooner than this, but oh well. I apologize for any typos or mistakes that might have snaked their way in.

I'd like to thank the people who are still reading and if there are any new readers, I'd like to mention that Part 3 will make much better sense if you first read part 1 and 2. Part 1 is sappy and cutesy, but there are references made to it. Part 2 lets you see Arashi grow up a bit.

* * *

 **Summary:** _Family dialogue, a class in the hospital, and a forgotten message._

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

Despite the embarrassment Arashi experienced with Kakashi, she felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. She kept her senses honed in on Naruto's location throughout the day, but went about her own business with more peace than she had experienced since before the beginning of her mission. Even when she lost track of him for periods of time, she brushed it off and was sure to check in on him again after a short period of time. Concerns that the Jounin hated her faded along with her fear that he saw her as an obnoxious kid. If anything, his comical statement about the lotion indicated to her that his mental image of her had already shifted and that his teasing was likely a way to get a better gauge on her.

At least, that is what she hoped.

It was an effective tactic – he was able to pull her out of her comfort zone and effectively take control of the conversation each time they spoke, even when she did the majority of speaking.

There was a spring in her step as she got ready. She would be hosting a class for nurses that evening and she was eager for it. Most of her time seemed to be engulfed by paperwork when she was not training, but hands on exercises like this afforded a break of sorts. Additionally, it let her get a feel of the staff and what their strengths and weaknesses were. Her father managed the personnel in the hospital and had ingrained in her the importance of keeping everyone well trained. Konoha benefitted not only from medical shinobi, but from the rest of the medical staff, as well.

Arashi made it to the kitchen before anyone else was up and started making breakfast. This was not her normal practice, but she was feeling charitable.

Before long, Kazika was at the table, wiping the sleep from his eyes, waiting to be fed. Ookami joined them and sat across from him, sipping on tea. Naomi stared at her daughter like she had grown a second head. The kunoichi typically raced out of the door, paying little attention to food in the morning, let alone cooking.

"What's this?" The woman demanded, hands on her hips.

"Breakfast." Kazika replied for his sister.

Naomi pursed her lips and ignored him. "Do you have news to give us? Is it bad? Trying to soften a blow?"

"No, Mom. I just felt like being nice."

Suspicion lit up her eyes. "You've been awfully cheerful, recently. No reason for that?"

"Nope. Just—"

"That's going to burn, sweetie."

"Woops!" She removed a pan from heat and nursed it for a moment.

"Maybe you should make breakfast a little more often." Her mother crinkled her nose at the faint smoke in the air.

"Uh, yeah." Arashi fanned it toward a window. "Anyway, I've just been in a good mood."

"Oh? Why's that? Could it be that you've finally found a man or is this just more ninja stuff?"

"Ninja stuff," Arashi replied in a sing-song voice. "Also, stop manipulating my friends. Why does my relationship status even really matter?"

"Well, Kazika mentioned you've been following someone around."

Kazika conveniently found an excuse to leave the room. Although he was not the brightest, he knew to remove himself from sketchy situations. Their mother inquiring about his sister's romantic life fell into that category – especially when he was pulled into it. Since the inquiries happened on a weekly basis, the boy now had an internal clock that let him know when to leave and when it was safe to come back.

"I just want you to not end up a spinster with nothing but books and cats to keep you company."

Ookami snorted, "Leave her alone. She's still young. There's no point in fussing over it. I was older than her when I met you."

The truth was that he was perfectly fine with his daughter not entering into the questionable dating pool that he had seen around the village. He realized he was biased and was not ashamed.

Naomi fluttered her eyelashes at him, "You're still handsome, you know."

He winked at his wife.

Arashi felt a pang of longing – her parents operated off each other well. They had different personalities, but they were compatible, fueling each other's quirks and maintaining a good team. The kunoichi doubted she would ever have that. She let them make eyes at each other as she set food on the table.

"Thanks, Dad. The person I'm _following_ is involved in a research I'm currently doing for the Academy. That's really all there is to it. Trust me."

"I never doubted you," He replied, tamely, as he turned his attention to the plate in front of him.

Her mother, however, sighed, "Kakashi-san's gotten quite tall, hasn't he? I remember when he was just a little thing. Even with the mask, he looks so much like his father."

Arashi blinked, "Wait. How did you know that he's one of the people I'm working with?"

"He stopped by my shop a couple days ago and we talked for a while. I was busy at the time, but he asked about you."

An uncomfortable feeling settled in her stomach. If she was going to be honest, she had lost track of Naruto's signature. The last time she was able to locate him was early the day before.

"Must be work related. What did he say?"

"Hmm." She twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she thought. "He asked where you were and there was something else that I can't remember for the life of me."

"Did he mention anything about a mission or training?"

"He bought some lotion."

 _Oh, kami._

That alone was enough to drive her away from that subject.

Kazika slid back into his seat, drawn back by the smell of food.

"What's that expression for?" Her mother scowled. "It's a good product!"

"I'm sure it is," she replied, innocently.

"You should let mom cook next." Her brother interjected, paying no mind to the current conversation.

She glanced at him as her mother pretended her laugh was a cough.

"Be grateful you have food to eat," Ookami scolded him. "It's impolite to belittle kind acts."

"Sorry," the boy mumbled.

Arashi and Ookami quickly finished their food and left for the hospital. Kazika walked with them part of the way until he split form their path to go to the Academy. Ookami reminded the boy to not get in trouble – which was a daily ritual at this point.

Naomi stayed home, washing dishes. Her eyebrows were knit together, perplexed as she tried to remember her exchange with Kakashi. For some reason, she could not shake the feeling that she needed to tell her daughter something.

* * *

It was not uncommon for Ookami and Arashi to host training sessions in the hospital. Much of the staff had gotten to watch him rear his daughter into the medic she was, never complaining as she followed after his shadow. All of the nurses answered to doctors and medical shinobi, doing all of the less prestigious work while those in more revered positions got the credit. The retired Jounin went out of his way to let everyone know that they were needed and that their continued training and education was important. Their medical system prospered from the efforts.

Even new faces grew accustomed to the father and daughter, being introduced to them within their first weeks on the job. It was due to that familiarity that a new nurse, her nametag identifying her as Airi, stood in shock over the kunoichi. They had never spoken to each other, but she knew without any doubt that this was her boss's daughter.

Arashi was sprawled on the floor, her eyes shut, and her body motionless. The nurse felt for a pulse but could not find one. Her skin was cold to the touch and it caused the woman to pull her hand back, as if burned.

"Hey!" She yelled, jumping to her feet and running to the door to reach the hallway. "I need help! We have a medical shinobi in here – unresponsive! No pulse!"

Without waiting for a response, she darted back to the girl on the floor. First, she checked to make sure that her airway was clear before she started chest compressions. As she counted to thirty, several more nurses rushed into the room.

Airi tilted Arashi's head back, pinched her nose and blew into her mouth twice before going right back into the compressions.

The room became a hive of activity and mingled voices as they tried to piece together what happened. There was paperwork scattered on the floor where she had collapsed. They could find no injuries – no cuts, bruises, or proof of a blow to the head. All they could determine was that there was a lack of oxygen as her lips were blue.

After several minutes of trying to get some sort of response, she was out of breath.

"The girl's cold," another nurse commented, shaking her head. "She's been this way for a while."

This was the last thing that Airi expected to deal with. The guarded look in the kunoichi's father's eyes as he entered the office was all that was needed to make her heart drop into her stomach.

Ookami wasted no time getting to her side. He settled a hand over his daughter's chest and channeled his chakra to probe for a heartbeat. The search traveled from her heart to her head and after several moments, his arm dropped and his shoulders slouched.

The nurses watched in a stunned silence – most of the people present were scheduled to join in the training scheduled that evening.

"She's dead." He announced, his voice hollow.

"I tried," Airi started but lost her words for a moment. "We tried, but it was too late."

His body bowed under the weight of the situation. One of the nurses closed the door to give them more privacy while another picked up the scattered items on the floor.

"Well," Ookami glanced at the clock. "This may prove to be problematic for our hands-on session, no?"

Confused whispers traveled through the room.

He channeled chakra back into his hand and placed it on her forehead, "Perhaps this will help?"

Arashi's body convulsed and she gasped awake. Her eyes were wide – crazed – as she looked around at all of the faces gathered in the room. The confused whispers turned to awe.

Before she could say anything, the kunoichi scrambled over to a trashcan and vomited. Airi tried to hold her hair out of the way, grimacing at how violent the wretches were.

"As you can see, resuscitation, when successful, is not a pretty sight. Vomiting is a common side effect. You did well, by the way." Ookami leaned to the side and peered at her nametag. "Airi, is it?"

"Th-thank you, Ookami-san. I'm just glad your daughter is alright."

He waved it off, "This was planned, although it did show that at least one of you has a good reaction time. Working that hard on a body that's already cold is good dedication. It's appreciated from my end."

Arashi grunted and tried to clean herself up, "Yeah, thanks."

"Y-you're welcome?"

"While she regains her composure, we'll talk." He continued. "Another thing that could have been tried was a defibrillator. Going straight to CPR was the correct first action to take, though, especially since her skin had a blue tint to it, indicative of a lack of oxygen."

"I'm sorry, but," Airi interrupted him. "Did you just kill your daughter for a lesson?"

"Of course not." He replied, appalled. "It was her own jutsu."

"You taught it to me," his daughter interjected.

"Oh shush. It only temporarily puts the body in a near death state. She would have woken up on her own, likely already by this point even without my help. It's not as serious as it looked. Even though you couldn't find a pulse by feeling or listening for it, if you had gotten a stethoscope and been patient, you would have heard a faint beating."

Airi and the other nurses collectively swallowed over lumps in their throats.

"Is there any specific reason why? Just for 'training' purposes or do you like nearly scaring us to death?" Another nurse asked.

"It's good for missions, as well." He grinned, warmly. "Now, we should really move out of this cramped office and into a better room, shouldn't we?"

* * *

Across the village, Naomi was busy in her salon.

It had been a busy day – week, actually – and she could not shake the bad feeling from that morning. On her lunch break she had went home to make sure the stove was off, all the windows were closed, and the door was locked. The feeling persisted. In between the hair appointments and selling her products, she checked her inventory and recounted her till. All was well, but something still nagged at the back of her mind.

She tried humming along with the songs on the radio and getting in on all of the gossip that her clients brought in. Nothing helped. It was nothing so ominous that she felt the need to check on her children or her husband.

"Do you have more of that lotion in stock?" Her current client, Machi, asked. "It just does wonders for my skin!"

Naomi looked over at the shelf where she kept that product. It all came back to her in a flash – Kakashi had asked her to relay a message to her daughter. They were leaving on a mission to the Land of Waves and he wanted her to catch up to them to join their group. The resurgence of the memory caused her to haphazardly cut an uneven layer into her client's hair. All she had wanted was a trim.

She immediately broke into a full-bodied sweat as she took in how awful the woman's hair now looked. It would take shortening the length and adding several more layers to make it look decent. Her pride as a hair stylist burned.

"What is it, dear?" Machi inquired, turning her head to catch a glimpse of what happened in a mirror. "Oh, the last time you got that bold with a cut, all my friends couldn't stop talking about it and how good it looked on me! Do keep going!"

Naomi remembered that time very well. Four years prior, Machi had made a snotty remark about Arashi's friendship with Itachi, questioning Naomi's judgment in ever letting the girl near such a creature. She went to such an extent to talk about why it was only a matter of time before it happened and that the clan should have seen it coming. All of this was said within hearing range of her daughter, perhaps a week after the event.

The woman added another terrible layer into the woman's hair, just for good measure. If she was ever prone to holding grudges, it was over her children.

She might have made a terrible mistake in forgetting to tell Arashi about the mission, but she resolved to send Kazika to fill her in on it when he got home.

* * *

A group of ten women were lined up in a bay that had been cleared out for their use. All of the beds that had previously been there were moved out and lining the walls of the hallway around. A few tables were lined up with supplies on them – sutures, bandages, antiseptics, and various tools. Everyone in attendance knew how to use everything laid out for them and that brought a sense of comfort after the fiasco that the two medical shinobi put them through.

"All of you have been here a month or two at this point, so you should have a good idea of your role. Think of this as a refresher. When things are slow, we hold these classes to gauge how everyone's doing." Arashi addressed the nurses. "As a team, we rely on each other. If you think of it as a chain, then we're only as strong as the weakest link – if that breaks, then the chain comes undone. I know that the medical shinobi here get most of the attention and credit from our patients, but the truth is that people in your roles keep this place running. Frankly, most civilians will never be treated by a medical ninja. They will, however, receive treatment from all of you."

"What is the function of the medical shinobi here?" One of the nurses ventured to ask. "Do they only focus on shinobi?"

Ookami answered, "Not quite. It's true that they primarily find themselves treating our military, but that is not where their services end. Due to our capability with medical ninjutsu, we are able to treat severe and life threatening injuries. More often than not, those injuries are sustained by shinobi taking missions, but I have treated my fair share of farmers over the years, as well."

"I see." The nurse nodded her head. "I assume that the less severe cases and patients in recovery are our responsibility?"

"Basically, yes." Arashi replied. "Most injuries can be treated by some anesthetic, sutures, and time. Other things like broken bones have to be set and given time – in some cases, medic nins step in, but most patients are simply told to relax until it sorts itself out. Burns are also easily treatable, as long as the severity is not critical. Thanks to nurses such as yourself and the doctors you work with, more medical shinobi are free to join missions and increase success rates while lowering the mortality rates."

"However," Ookami picked up, "There will be times when you'll have to treat wounds outside of your scope, without the guidance of a doctor or medic nin. When that happens, we want you to be familiar and prepared. That is why we have you here today."

The nurses paid close attention. From the beginning, they were advised to do as the retired Jounin instructed them. He had seen war and spent most of his life treating the people of the Land of Fire.

"So, we're going to begin with the basics – different kinds of injuries you are most likely to encounter. Behind me, there is a board with many listed, with some information included with each entry. As I call them off, Arashi will use a henge jutsu to show you what each looks like."

The kunoichi took a deep breath and waited for her father's queue.

"Laceration—" a long cut appeared on her arm with a poof, "Stab wounds—" a series of puncture wounds appeared on her other arm with a poof, "Burns—" a large, unsightly burn appeared across her face, "Skeletal—" with another poof her leg was bent in a way that indicated a break. "And the list goes on. There are quite a few things that aren't so obvious, such as hyper extensions, and torn tendons and muscles. With shinobi, it's also not uncommon to see them coming in, suffering from the after effects of chakra depletion. Medical nin can flush their chakra systems, but it usually falls back on letting the body heal on its own."

Arashi adjusted her stance so that all of the nurses could see the injuries.

"Alright," Ookami motioned toward the supplies. "Get to treating her wounds. Show me that you know how to properly address the four types that she's presenting to you."

Before long, she was being poked and prodded by the class. She had someone on each side, cleaning her fake wounds, while other prepared bandages, gauze to pack the punctures, and antibiotic cream for the burns.

"The broken let may need to be attended." Ookami reminded them.

Airi helped Arashi onto one of the tables, voiding her bosses' eyes like a scolded child, "Do we need to actually set it? This is just a transformation jutsu, right?"

"You're right. We won't be setting a bone or setting sutures on her, as the wounds aren't actually real." He replied. "We'll find actual patients for that. Just show me the supplies that would be needed for it."

While the nurses gathered everything, and spoke to the man about the procedures, her thoughts wandered. For the life of her, she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. Skimming through signatures failed to turn up anyone on Team 7. She hoped that they were mixed into a crowd or training somewhere that was hard for her to pinpoint. The only issue with that was that she had never went this long without detecting at least one of them. Naruto's signature was the closest thing to a beacon in the village.

 _Wait a moment._

As she scanned through the signatures around, she came across one that belonged to a certain Aburame she had not seen in a while, due to him staying busy with missions. Her eyebrows knit together – he was close. In fact, when she turned her head, Akio was standing on the other side of one of the windows, staring into the room.

Her father followed her gaze and his eyebrows rose, "Looks like we have a volunteer."

The Aburame's coat was open, revealing his ANBU gear. There was dirt and blood spackled across his face and sunglasses. His clothing had several rips and tears, most stained red. His arm braced his side and he appeared to be favoring one of his legs. It was not his best look.

The kunoichi released her transformation and went to the window to let him in. With a soft thud, he dropped into the room and grimaced at the small crowd the gathered around them.

"Let me take a look at you," she whispered, tugging at his coat.

He shrugged out of it and he left it on the floor.

After a quick search, she found a considerable wound on his left side and proof that he had sustained other injuries – the Fuin Shugotenshi had managed to heal those before using all of the stored chakra and dispersing. While she knew that it had clear limitations, her stomach clenched at the idea of how much damage he had taken. The idea of creating a way to fuel the medical ninjutsu sealed away, in order to make it a self-replenishing jutsu was one that she had studied and worked on a lot. At this point, it was merely an idea on paper that had not been forged into a working jutsu.

"How did you manage this?"

He grunted.

"Missions, huh?"

She focused chakra into her hands and began taking care of the laceration on his side – it started at his hip and extended to midway up his ribcage where it tapered away.

"Don't tell me you're taking the experience away from our class, dear," Ookami inquired, tentatively, from across the room. "At least give them a chance to clean the boy up."

Akio grunted and peered at the retired Jounin from the side of his sunglasses.

She shrugged, "Alright. Just let me finish sealing the gaping hole in his side before."

"Thanks," the Aburame spoke for the first time since turning up.

Airi and another nurse approached and began cleaning grime off his face. Once Arashi was done with his side, they peeled the ANBU gear away from his body to get a better look at him. There was a line of sutures on his other side.

"Well done on those, Akio." Arashi pointed at them. "But, I'd say it would have been better to have not gotten hurt like that."

"Easier said than done." Was his reply.

Airi removed his glasses and squealed as bugs scurried inside of his eyes to hide. A horrified shriek passed through each of the women. The kunoichi and the Aburame exchanged a look.

"Come now, ladies. You'll have to see and deal with far worse than a few bugs." Her father chuckled. "Members of his clan really aren't that bad. Their insects won't do anything out of the way."

Ten sets of dubious eyes settled on him.

* * *

"But Mom, she'll get mad at _me_."

"Oh, no she won't. She'll know it's my fault."

Kazika squinted at his mother. "Why can't you do it?"

"I'm far too busy. Booked the rest of the evening!"

The boy considered his options. He could agree to the task and then spend the evening training instead of telling his sister. That would make his mother mad. The second option was to tell his dad and ask him to tell her – but then he would still push it back on him due to being too busy to leave whatever he was doing in the hospital. If Arashi was not in plain sight, he'd just tell the boy to go find his sister, anyway.

What his mother said held merit – Arashi would blame their mother – but he knew what would happen. The Ran family was a career driven collection of people. Ookami had the staff of the hospital to manage, Naomi had her salon, and Arashi had her duties as a shinobi. The moment he let her know she was two days late for a mission, she would implode. Even if it was not directed at him, he knew it would not be a pretty sight.

"Fine." He crossed his arms. "But I get to train for a week instead of helping at the salon."

Naomi pursed her lips and considered it.

The boy's gaze did not falter.

"Fine."

"We have a deal." Kazika turned and started toward the hospital to look for his sister.

* * *

"Sorry that you had to put up with everyone, earlier."

Akio grunted.

They were currently sitting on a bench outside of the hospital. Her father lead the women off to find other patients once her old teammate was deemed healthy and she chose to take advantage of the opportunity. It was not often that he ever sought her out – he could have found any other medical shinobi around. She knew there were some in ANBU's ranks, as well.

"Any reason why you came looking for me?"

"Nostalgia. Blood loss does that to me."

The kunoichi laughed, but it was hollow. She was reminded of when he got himself stabbed on their way back from their first C ranked mission.

"I'm honored."

He snorted in amusement as the sarcasm in her voice.

"We'll have to wait a few days before I try to set the Fuin Shugotenshi in your body again. When it expires like that, it takes a toll on your system."

"Hurts when you put it back, too."

"Unfortunately, fuinjutsu isn't as gentle as it is delicate." She shrugged. "I'm still looking into a way to better support and feed the Shugotenshi. Weaving the seals through muscles, tissue, and sinew is tricky. If anything overlaps even just a little, that could be disastrous. Now, imagine adding a new set into your body that does not cancel or override the first and is able to work in tandem, feeding the medical ninjutsu without producing further complications?"

"I'd rather not imagine it."

"I guess it's pretty boring to think about."

In the distance, she felt her brother's signature. Her first assumption was that he was looking for her to ask her to train with him. More often than not, he was stuck with their mother, helping her do different odds and ends in the evenings. When he managed to wriggle his way out of chores, his first inclination was to train with his tanto.

Even though she made a point to give into him more, she was not in the mood to entertain him. There was still the issue that she had not located Naruto that day and had no idea where he was. It was starting to leave a bad taste in her mouth.

 _I guess I'll at least let him know I don't have time this evening. He'll pout._

As soon as her brother came into sight, their gazes met and he froze. The boy started to turn around to walk away, but decided against it a few steps in. He readjusted his course toward her, but stopped several yards away.

"What's up, Kazika?"

He scratched at his cheek, "Well, uh."

"I don't have time to train with you this evening."

"It's not that." He insisted. "It's just that, well, Mom forgot to tell you about a mission."

Arashi's blood turned to ice in her veins. "What."

"Something about Kakashi-san asking you to meet him on a mission to the Land of Waves. They're escorting someone."

Just as the boy expected, the girl started to implode. It was nothing that would have caught the attention of most people passing by. In fact, if he had not known her, he would never have realized something was wrong. However, to the boy, it was obvious. He could clearly see her having a mental breakdown – like a bull crashing through a shop full of fine glassware.

Then, she came back to herself.

"What was his name?" She asked through her teeth.

"Uh, Tazuna?"

"How long ago?!"

"He told her two days ago."

He watched in horror as his sister bit her finger until it bled and then punched the ground – just for the boy, Akio, and the bench that he had been sitting on to be blown back by the ensuing wave of air that came from Sukai being summoned.

Arashi scaled onto the bird's back – not in a graceful manner by any definition of the word – and pointed in the general direction of their home, "Fly, you damn bird!"

Sukai shrieked in annoyance back at her.

Kazika knew it was going to be an ugly sight.

* * *

And that's it for now. The Land of Waves arc gets to begin next chapter. Arashi's running a bit late, but she won't miss out on everything.

If anyone has any suggestions, criticisms or comments, please share it in either a review or a message. I appreciate all forms of feedback!

* * *

 **Castielshumanheart:** Thank you for the review!

Arashi's much more aware of her shortcomings now. She's had a lot of time to meditate on her flaws, but that doesn't mean she's always going to be pessimistic. Currently, she's a bit jaded, but with time she'll start to come out of it.

I'm still testing the waters a bit with her growing friendship with Kakashi. He's complicated and likes to keep people at a distance. She's stubborn and pushy and doesn't like to be kept out of the loop. At the very least, it should be interesting. I honestly wasn't sure how anyone would react to the masturbation reference.

I hope that you enjoy this chapter – and thank you again for sticking around.

 **Windschatten:** I'm glad you didn't mind how much Arashi fretted over everything. First and foremost, I want to keep her human. I want her to have faults, to assume the wrong things, and to be vulnerable at times, even though I've worked on making her a tough kunoichi.

You always make me feel so flattered in your reviews. Thank you so much for that. Haha It helps to alleviate certain fears and insecurities that would otherwise hover around as I piece together their dialogue and the scenes they're in.

I hope that this chapter doesn't prove to be boring and that you enjoy it.


	6. The Land of Waves Arc Begins

Chapter 6

The Land of Waves Arc Begins

* * *

I am genuinely sorry that it has taken me so long to finish this chapter and post it. It has basically been done, except for a few additions and a little editing, for roughly a month. In my defense, I purchased a house, did some remodeling, and moved, so my life has been busy. D: Still, I hate randomly becoming inactive.

I would like to thank everyone that has read and reviewed. It's greatly appreciated.

Anyway, this is the beginning of the Land of Waves Arc. Arashi's a little late to the show, but not by much. Again – if you're just now joining for Part 3, I would recommend reading the first two parts. I know that it's a lot of content to cover, but it will explain a lot for Arashi and some of the other characters.

* * *

 **Summary:** _Arashi catches up, meets Tazuna, and isn't very happy about the situation._

* * *

"Akakakakaka!"

Arashi glared at the falcon.

"Akakaka!"

"Are you going to keep laughing at me all the way there?" She yelled over the wind.

"You should pay better attention, little meal."

"Seriously?" She rubbed her temples for a moment. "Why didn't he just find me to let me know?"

"Why fret over what was already done?"

He had a point. With a sigh, she gave up on venting. They were well on their way to the Land of Waves. From their position far above the ground, everything appeared to move slowly, but she knew that each beat of the falcon's wings covered more distance than a civilian could hope to achieve even at a run. If not for her concern about being as late as she was, she might have found it to be relaxing.

After the first ten or so minutes, once her skin was numb from the wind, anyway. Her first time riding the bird had been terrifying. It took several more excursions with Sukai to make her more comfortable, but if their velocity was ever more than a lazy glide, she reverted back to a death grip on his feathers. It was hard to hear, smell, or keep her eyes open when they were in a rush.

 _The thought of flying is better than the experience._

"Ak? I this mission important?"

"Not really. Just a C."

"Then why the stress? What is the point of it?"

"It's their first mission above a D and I was supposed to be there with them."

Despite his assistance on many of her own assignments outside of the village, he was disconnected from the purpose. He understood the rankings and different types, but none of it applied to his personal existence. His disinterest in shinobi affairs was frustrating, but he had proven to be invaluable to her.

"Their first?"

"They're relatively new Genin."

"Ak! Fledglings!"

"Basically."

"Will they be as green as you were when you jumped on my back with that contract in your hand?"

"Uh," She chewed on her lip. "I had way more experience by that point."

"Ak! Then worse!"

She sighed, but he paid no attention to it.

* * *

It was mid-day when she sensed Team 7's signatures and what she detected made her mouth thin into a line.

Kakashi's chakra was low, but not dangerously. Naruto had used a portion of his, while Sasuke and Sakura were without much change. There were three other signatures she did not recognize. One felt like a civilian, the other two were unmistakably shinobi from the Hidden Mist.

"We have a problem!"

"Ak?"

"I think they're fighting with other ninja – there shouldn't by shinobi conflict on a mission like this!"

"Should we hurry?"

"Yes, but I'll need you to stay high enough from the trees to not be a target. I only sense one person from the Mist engaging, but there's another one nearby. I want to get a better assessment of what's going on before rushing in."

The falcon picked up his speed.

Arashi squinted. They were drawing close to one of the many islands that comprised the Land of Waves. On their right side was a bridge of impressive proportions. Littered across it was proof of ongoing construction. Even with the obstruction of mist from the ocean, she was impressed to see a structure produced by a place that had little to boast in the way of an economy.

Her thoughts raced. The three Genin had only been on missions equivalent to chores. Even with training up to this point, they were not ready for shinobi combat. As skilled as Kakashi was reported to be, his notably small reserve of chakra worried her.

 _What is going on?_

Sukai soared over the last of the bridge and veered away from the buildings and gawking civilians that caught sight of them. She directed him toward a wooded area in the direction that she felt surges of ninjutsu coming from.

 _Kakashi's burning through his chakra faster than I'm comfortable with._

Despite one of the foreign signatures partaking in the fight, she noted that the second one stayed at a distance. It felt calculated.

"How should we approach?"

"Let's circle the area. I want you to let me off a short distance away from them."

"Ak."

At her indication, Sukai dropped to just above the trees. A cyclone of water ripped through the area, narrowly missing them. Arashi took a breath and jumped from his back, landing on a branch with a dull thud. The bird rose in elevation and returned to a safe position.

She peered in the Jounin's direction, _His chakra is low, but I think he'll be fine. He hit that guy with that jutsu, right on point._

Her target was not the shinobi that was engaged, but the one that was lurking. With a frown etched into her face and a kunai in hand, she made her way toward the signature. What she found was a boyish figure, wearing a mask.

A mask that she recognized as one worn by the Mist's tracking squad.

Her heart dropped as she peered at him from behind a tree. No one like that had any business near a squad of Genin. If she were to guess, she assumed he was a year or so older than Naruto, but she was hesitant to make a move. Age could not be used as a means to gauge someone's strength – she was not naive enough to believe she could take a member of that organization – but beyond that, he had not made any indication as to why he was there.

A short distance away, a shirtless man was pinned against the trunk of a tree as water rushed around him. Before he was able to regain his senses, several kunai pierced into his arms. His response was to scream and slump back. The sword tied to his back was now useless.

 _He clearly has not had a good time._

Kakashi landed on a branch above the man, his hitai-ate shifted up to his forehead to reveal his Sharingan. From her vantage point, she was able to make out Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the man she assumed was Tazuna. Beyond a few cuts, bruises, and being wet, they appeared to be in good condition.

"It's over." Kakashi informed him, his eyes no longer drooping in disinterest, but sharp and in the moment.

"How?" The man's voice was strained with disbelief. "Can you see the future?"

"Yeah," The Jounin drew a kunai. "You're going to die."

The masked boy drew senbon, leapt to another branch and threw them.

Arashi tightened her grip on her kunai, but the tension was replaced by confusion when she felt the other Mist shinobi's signature go out. Naruto's squeal of surprise echoed her own opinion.

 _Why needles?_ She peered down at the corpse. _Why the neck? I mean, that takes a lot of skill to take someone down with such an inefficient weapon, but…_

The boy chuckled at everyone's surprise, "You're right. He's dead."

 _From his voice, it's definitely a male and definitely young._

Kakashi dropped to the ground and checked the man's pulse. After a moment, he turned his attention to the younger Mist shinobi.

"Thank you, very much," he bowed, politely. "I have been searching for the opportunity to kill Zabuza for a long time."

Arashi's eyes narrowed. _Then why not wait until he was dead? Why step in right before Kakashi could kill him?_

"That mask," Kakashi commented. "You're a Mist hunter nin."

"Impressive. You are correct."

Naruto stepped in front of his teammates and bristled, "Hunter-nin?"

Sakura muttered something at the blonde that the Chuunin failed to hear.

"Yes. My duty is to hunt down missing ninja." The boy explained. "I'm a member of my village's hunter-nin team."

If Arashi had learned one thing, it was that banter was often used as a means to bide time and distract. She continued to keep her senses pinned on the area for any additional signatures. There was something about his lone presence that nagged at her.

Meanwhile, Naruto stepped forward, his eyes bright. He looked at Zabuza and back at the boy. Anger, shock, and frustration made his entire body shake.

"What the hell!" He pointed at the hunter-nin. "Who are you?!"

Kakashi rose from his crouch and began to walk back to his team, "Don't worry, Naruto. He's not an enemy."

"I'm not asking that!" The Uzumaki screamed, his face twisted in a scowl. "Zabuza – that guy – a guy that strong was killed! A guy that strong was killed by a kid! By a kid not much different from me! We look stupid!"

"Well, I know how you feel, but," Kakashi placed his hand on his student's head. "It is also the truth. In this world, there exists kids younger than you, yet stronger than me."

Naruto averted his gaze and stopped yelling, but the same frustrated energy kept him tense.

The hunter-nin disappeared from the branch he stood in with a burst of ice cold wind that swirled around him. The hair on Arashi's arms stood on end – the boy had a kekkei genkai. She knew from the cold breeze that caused her glasses to fog over. The reaction that caused the jutsu was a combination of water and wind chakra, resulting in ice. Despite how subtle it was for a bystander, she was too aware of each chakra type, how they felt, and how they reacted to brush it off as a coincidence.

Still seemingly unaware of her presence, he appeared in front of his target and lifted the body partially onto his back, "Your battle is now over and I must dispose of this body, since it contains many secrets. Farewell."

He formed a handseal with one hand and was gone with the same vortex and icy wind. A short distance away, she felt him reappear, but turned her attention to the scene at hand.

Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate down to cover the Sharingan, "Now we need to get Tazuna-san back home. Let's go!"

 _With how low his chakra is, I don't see how he's still walking._

The man she assumed was Tazuna let out a bellowing laugh, "Thanks, guys! You all can come over to my house and relax for a while!"

Kakashi took one step forward and fell on his face.

 _Oh. That's more like it._

The kids ran to him, Naruto and Sakura yelling his name while the old man paled.

 _I need to make sure he's stable and figure out what's going on._

Arashi dropped from her perch and ran to them, "Hey!"

The blond gaped at her. "Sis? Why are you so late? Like, you know, this is bad! Like, real bad!"

"Sorry – move," She pushed by him and kneeled by Kakashi. "Let me take a look at him and then we'll talk."

Sakura grabbed Naruto and pulled him back, "Give her room!"

The medic flipped Kakashi onto his back and held her hand over his chest. After gathering chakra to her hand, she channeled it into his systems, checking for damage and assessing his body's current state to get a better idea of his condition – which culminated to bruised ribs, a lacerated hand, and a severely over used chakra system.

 _Even if I transfer some of my chakra to him, he's not going to be feeling well when he wakes up._ Her eyebrows knit together. _Definite damage, but I need to make sure his body doesn't go into shock._

A shinobi dying due to chakra depravation was not a pretty sight.

Each of the Genin gathered around her. Sakura had the appearance of someone trying to be brave, but her rigid posture and the hand over her mouth betrayed her fear. Naruto was an open book – scared but mesmerized by what she was doing. Sasuke had a better poker face than the other two, but he failed to hide the concern and uncertainty in his eyes.

Arashi closed her eyes and focused on the Jounin. Instead of maintaining the distance she had while examining him, she pressed her hand against his chest and flooded it with her chakra. The sensation of his wet clothes, along with the rise and fall of his chest helped her to block out everything else around them. She might not have been able to assist during the battle, but she was able to help now.

Carefully, she sent her chakra through his system, mapping out his pathways and testing his tenketsu. Their signatures mingled as she tested the flow of his chakra and she could not shake the tingling sensations that ran through her hand and up her arm during the process.

What she found as she searched revealed to her that even with the Sharingan covered, it continued to pull chakra from his system. Normally, such demands would not equate to much, but the particular way that it strained his system threw off the balance. His body was not meant to house a doujutsu and its presence affected its equilibrium in a negative way.

"Why the serious look, ne, Sis?" Naruto asked, his voice shaky.

"He's going to be fine; however, he's done a bit of damage to himself."

"So? You're a medic." Sasuke interjected. "You should be able to correct it."

"True, but he's physically fine." She replied.

"Then, what's wrong?" Sakura asked. "If he's physically fine, that means he's okay, right?"

The Chuunin sighed. "Except, he's not. It's his chakra system. There can be repercussions from draining your chakra too much, too fast. The 8 gates are fine, but the tenketsu have seen better days."

"Tenketsu?" Naruto repeated, squinting at her.

"Think of your pathways as an electrical system. Tenketsu are nodes that control the flow, acting like circuit breakers. They're all working enough to keep him alive, but some of them are essentially fried from over exertion."

"What does that mean?" Sasuke demanded. "How long will it take for him to get better?"

Arashi shrugged, "Everyone recovers differently. It could take a couple days to a couple weeks."

"Well," Tazuna scratched at the back of his head. "I feel pretty guilty, but at least everyone's okay."

The Chuunin paused for a moment before she looked at him. The smell of sake wafted from him like cheap cologne and there was something desperate in his eyes and face that his straw hat and many wrinkles could not hide. His clothes were patched and sewn together, implying that he could not afford to replace them and his hands were calloused from hard work. He was poor and scared.

After years of contact with Ibiki, she had learned to keep her eyes open for any detail that could prove useful. Due to that, she had a hunch that their client knew why they were attacked.

"Why do you feel guilty, Tazuna-san?" Arashi asked, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Did you know this was going to happen?"

"Er, well," The old man stumbled over his words.

Naruto shoved a finger into the man's face, "He knew! He knew the whole time, you know!"

"So, you requested an escort for a low level mission when a shinobi was after you?" She stood and took a step toward him but kept her voice even. "Why lie – I know you must have, they never would have categorized shinobi conflict as a C – why not be honest and get proper protection?"

He averted his eyes and pulled his hat down to hide part of his face. "I couldn't afford anything more."

"Obviously. I'll also assume that you were hoping for this situation. How lucky, really. You got a Jounin for a fraction of the price – to hell with his students."

Tazuna bristled like a dog that had been kicked, "My country is dying! I'm the bridge builder and if the bridge isn't completed, everyone here will be trapped under Gato's heel!"

Another thing she had learned from her sensei was how to manipulate people into talking. She might not have been as gifted with it as he was, but she managed.

"And who is this Gato?"

"The shipping tycoon, Gato. He's extremely dangerous and he's out for my life. He's been dealing in drugs and contraband, policing these streets with thugs. With his business, he controls what comes in and what goes out. Our only hope is the completion of the bridge!"

Arashi blinked and took a moment to think about what she had just been told. It was not a habit of hers to keep up with businessmen or businesses in general, but she knew that her mother sometimes had supplies shipped by Gato's company. Not only was he well known enough that shady activity would be looked over, but he was wealthy enough to get away with it, even if he was caught in illegal activities.

"I have no idea how you managed to make an enemy like that, but I have half a mind to take this squad and their sensei and leave you here. Clearly, he has the means to hire more experienced shinobi and if he hired a rogue nin, that means the full price of the assassination was never paid. That's part of the benefit of going with rogue shinobi – you don't have to pay them the full price up front. He'll just hire a new one the moment he figures out you're alive and it won't even put a dent in his pocket."

"How can you be so heartless? My daughter, my grandson, all the people here are depending on my survival!"

Arashi threw her nose in the air. "Because, the wellbeing of the shinobi of my village take precedence over a lying, old man."

She walked back to the Genin, motioning for them to follow her. They gathered together in a small circle and she looked over them. They were shaken by the exchange, but appeared to be recovering from the shock of their sensei collapsing.

The Uzumaki held a hand over his mouth to whisper to her, "Ne, maybe we should help? It's like, y'know, what a cool hero would do."

Arashi shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"She's right, Naruto." Sakura backed her up. "Gato can hire more people to come after him. We're just Genin. We're not ready for this."

"Well," the Chuunin rubbed her temples and looked toward the Uchiha. "What was your Sensei's plan?"

"To see Tazuna to his house," he replied.

 _So, Naruto wants to keep going, the girl would be willing to turn back right now. Even Sasuke looks a little uncertain._

At that point, she figured she would try to impart a lesson to the children, since their sensei was currently unconscious.

"Well," she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "As shinobi, you will be faced with rough situations – situations that turn out to be more than expected. As you take riskier missions, you will have to fight other ninja and find a way to overcome the odds." She pointed to the Jounin. "Continuing with an injured member of your squad is not uncommon. Your client lied, but how we deal with that information should be up to the team's taichou. In this situation, your sensei." The kunoichi paused to eye each of them. "So, what will we do from here?"

Sakura was the first to respond. "Wait! You're of a higher rank than us, so shouldn't you make the decisions?"

"I'm not a member of your squad. Really, I'm just supposed to be here to observe. You've been dealt a poor hand of cards, but it will serve as a learning experience. I get that you're shaken, but letting fear dictate how you handle a mission has no place in a shinobi."

The girl drew back to consider the words, her pride stinging.

"I think we should keep going, you know!"

"Noted, Naruto. Just make sure you consider the mission's dangers and the likelihood of failure. We're not immortal. Keeping a calm head and not being controlled by our emotions will increase our chances of success."

"Kakashi-Sensei decided to see Tazuna to his home. As our taichou, we should accomplish that and wait for further instructions." Sasuke stated.

"Yeah," Sakura rushed to agree with him. "What Sasuke-kun said!"

"Alright." Arashi looked over at the old man. "We'll escort you home. The final decision depends on Kakashi-san."

Their client breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun – each of you, get a leg. I'll get his arms. Sakura-san, make sure I don't run into anything. Tazuna-san is going to show us to his home and devote his time to being an excellent host, aren't you?"

"Er, yes, of course!"

Sukai continued circling far overhead.

 _Guess it should be fine for him to do his own thing for a while._

Arashi removed her hitai-ate and used it as a reflective surface to send a signal to the falcon. After a moment, she heard a shriek of recognition and he poofed away.

The three kids and the old man gave her an odd look, but she waved them away. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

The boys grabbed a leg and helped her lift the Jounin off the ground. The best grip she could get on him was beneath his arms, which put her in an uncomfortable position in which his lolling head kept bumping into her. There was no doubt that the man was down for the count.

 _I really don't like this. One person left Kakashi in this state. What happens when they send more?_

The medic had been on dangerous missions, but being unprepared as a team vexed her. It was not in her nature to let her companions fight without her assistance, but she was unsure of how much help she would be during any battles that might occur. She would be able to treat wounds, but that meant that the Genin would have to show enough skill and battle prowess to not die before they could have a chance to be treated. A Jounin level shinobi would be able to take them out with ease.

"You missed it!" Naruto pulled her from her thoughts. "Kakashi-Sensei pulled out his Sharingan and there was like mist so it was hard to see, you know, and Zabuza had a huge sword, and thy kept tricking each other with water clones which was really cool. Then, Zabuza kicked Sensei through the air and he hid in the water and Zabua found him and locked him in a water prison and like—"

Kakashi's upper half hit the ground with a thud and Arashi stood over him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wait. He jumped in the water with a water ninja?"

Sasuke stared at her, his eyebrows knit together in annoyance. "He was kicked into the water."

She cleared her throat and lifted the man, again, "Don't tell him I dropped him."

Naruto continued, unaffected, "Yeah, but I came up with this super awesome idea, you know, and Sasuke did exactly what I needed him to do and we got him out. Then there was like, super awesome jutsu and Sensei was about to finish Zabuza when that other kid showed up and then you."

"That's, uh, really cool, Naruto-kun. I'm glad you were able to get him out and assist."

The Uzumaki beamed.

 _He's not going to be too thrilled if we have a long way to carry his sensei…_

* * *

Tazuna's home was quaint. It was built over the water, with two stories and a deck that wrapped all the way around it. From what Arashi could tell, it was more or less near the outskirts which would be both an advantage and disadvantage. Less people would know he had made it back and that would, in turn, aid in keeping word from getting back to Gato. Conversely, there weren't as many witnesses around for if something did happen.

The kunoichi chewed on her lips as they made their way up to the main entrance. The Jounin was still out and dangling, limply. Getting to carry him all the way there made her realize that although he was trim and fit, he was all muscle and bone. Not a bad thing, except it was a pain to carry that kind of deadweight.

 _There's water on basically every side, too. I can see why he went with a Mist shinobi. Very advantageous for them in this country. Fortunately, I haven't noticed anything suspicious._

Inside, she could feel two people. Tazuna opened the door and ushered them in. After an awkward moment, Arashi and the boys were able to get the Jounin inside without bludgeoning him on the door frame.

"Where would be a good place to put him?" Arashi asked.

"Let me get my daughter." Their client answered while slipping out of his sandals. "Tsunami, I'm home!"

A moment later, a petite woman with dark eyes and hair appeared from another room. As soon as she saw the unconscious man they were carrying, her relieved expression was replaced by concern and mild horror.

"What happened? Is that man dead?"

The medic shot the old man a look and waited for him to reply.

"Eh, we ran into some trouble along the way and these guys need a place to put their sensei. He's alive – don't worry." Tazuna explained. "Everyone, this is my daughter, Tsunami."

"Hello, Tsunami-san. I'm Ran Arashi. This guy here," She shook the Jounin, "Is Hatake Kakashi. The blonde is Uzumaki Naruto, the other boy is Uchiha Sasuke, and the girl is Haruno Sakura. If you could point us to a room, it would be greatly appreciated. He's a little heavy."

"Of course." The woman replied, her forehead creasing as she considered how they were going to house a group of people. "I believe we have spare bedding you can use."

Once they had Kakashi settled into a room, Arashi turned to the Genin. They stared back at her, waiting for direction. Tazuna hovered nearby, in case they needed something, while his daughter was busy in another part of the house. The other signature in the building had yet to budge from a room upstairs.

"We need to set up a watch rotation." She began. "Other shinobi will be our greatest concern, but keep in mind that our client and his family are civilians. A simple street thug can be just as dangerous to them. We need to assess the house and the most vulnerable areas that our enemies might take advantage of."

"Ne, I'll look outside to secure the area, sis!" Naruto volunteered.

As much as she cared for the boy, she knew he was more oblivious than the others. "Wait. You're really good at creating traps. You embarrassed your instructors enough over the years to prove that. I want you and Sakura-san to go through the house, reinforcing defenses. Sasuke-kun I want you to assess our location and vulnerability from outside."

Naruto wanted to complain, but his ego was stroked enough to keep him quiet. There was also something else – a type of appreciation as he looked from Sakura to her, grinning the entire time.

"On it!" Sakura grabbed the Uzumaki and pulled him behind her. "Let's get to work, already!"

 _Oh yeah. He likes her. Heh._

The Uchiha turned to leave without a word.

"Be safe out there and keep your eyes open. I want to know your opinion on everything."

He looked over his shoulder at her. "What? Are you worried? I'm not like Naruto."

"You know that doesn't matter."

He snorted and started on his way out of the room. "Besides, I doubt you'd be this calm if you sensed any threats around."

She blinked. _He just sassed me._

He was a far cry from the sweet boy she once knew.

The kunoichi entertained the idea of kicking the kid into the ocean, but reminded herself she had other things to concern herself with. There was more information she wanted to know.

"Tazuna-san, do you know of anyone that might report back to Gato? Do you have any specific enemies?"

"Many enemies, but none to name. Word will travel by gossip and they'll see me working with a crew on the bridge, regardless."

"Fair enough." She sat down by Kakashi's side. "Thank you for opening your home to us."

"Eh? It was the least I could do after the mess I made."

"You had your motivations."

"Yeah." He sighed. "How long do you think it will take for him to wake up?"

Arashi shrugged. "Not sure. When the Genin come back to brief me, I'll organize a watch schedule with them. Despite my reservations about this, they'll get a taste of what is really expected of them, at the very least."

"About that – I'm glad that you didn't refuse to let them go any farther with me."

"It's Kakashi-san's mission and his decision." She replied, calmly. "If he chooses to continue, then I will remain to help."

"Thank you for being civil."

She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. "Could you get some water for me? He'll be thirsty when he wakes up."

"Oh, uh, of course."

She held up her canteen for him to take. It was a tense exchange and he appeared more than happy to shuffle out of the room. As much as she valued a cohesive group where they could get along with their client, she refused to let him believe his actions were forgiven.

 _Besides, making him uncomfortable is kinda fun._

Now that she would be alone for a moment, she wanted to figure out a course of action. The Genin would have to hone their skills and be cautious enough to stay functioning. They would be useful in fending off non-shinobi enemies. For anything more, though, she needed to find a way to get Kakashi on his feet. It all depended on his chakra system and how quickly it could recover.

She chewed on her lip and pulled a scroll out of her back.

Written on the parchment was a fuinjutsu she had been tweaking for years. She was unsure of whether or not it would suit the situation, as it was meant to work in tangent with the Fuin Shugotenshi, but she had a hunch that with the right modifications, it could prove useful. Despite her work on it, she had yet to test it on a live host and was uncertain of what the results would be.

 _One to heal the physical and one to help with addressing the spiritual?_

Applying either of the jutsu to a body was a tricky process – she had to make sure that nothing overlapped and that it was entwined in the body in a correct manner. It required an intimate knowledge of the host's body and his chakra system. The other drawback was that the application was painful enough to keep someone down for a couple days.

 _Good thing he's already down, right?_

She placed her hands on Kakashi's body again and began channeling her chakra into his system. The sensation of her chakra mingling with his and the static-like tingle that vibrated in her hands made a chill run down her back. If she was going to test out a jutsu that could help him – while also furthering her study – she would need to familiarize herself with him.

As much as she did not want to admit it to herself, she liked his signature.

By the time Tazuna came back with her canteen, she was so engulfed in what she was doing, she did not notice him place it by her side and leave the room.

* * *

That's the end of Chapter 6. The next chapter follows along with events in the canon, but with an overly concerned and somewhat pushy medical shinobi hanging around. If you have any suggestions, criticisms, or concerns, please feel free to let me know in a review or in a message – I love all forms of feedback and I will take everything into consideration. Let me know what you guys think of the situation, how you think Arashi and Team 7 will react to each other, and what you think of Kakashi (although he is currently out of commission, he'll be back next chapter).

 **Windschatten** : As always, I greatly appreciate your continued reading and reviewing. It always makes my day to see what you have to say about this project.

It dawned on me that it had been a while since I had included a medical scene with her father and it felt appropriate to show more of his sense of humor. He is, after all, the person she reveres as her hero and the reason why she pursued the medical field. I also like incorporating her family in the story - I gave her a normal family, why not use it? Naomi will probably always been one of my favorite characters to write. Once Kazika's a shinobi, I'll probably use him a bit more, but neh.

Arashi's going to be around for quite a bit in the Arc. I just felt that having a sensor type tagging along the entire time would throw off the dynamics of the beginning of the arc. She would have sensed the brothers, she would have sensed Zabuza, and she would have stepped in to help free Kakashi when, really, Sasuke and Naruto needed that moment to work together and develop. I didn't want to steal that.

Thank you so much for your kind words! :)

 **Nejnarinu** : I'm glad that you've liked it up to this point and it flatters me that you blew through all of the parts to this point! I do apologize that it has taken me this long to post this update, but I do hope that you continue to enjoy it.

 **Reader-anonymous-writer** : Arashi got Sukai in part 2 of this fanfiction. They don't have the most stable or caring relationship, but I enjoy writing them. Mostly, he's transportation, but eventually will be used in more combat.

I'm actually going to address the miscommunication a bit more in Chapter 7, when Kakashi is awake. Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoy this update!


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